Live and Let Die re do
by xBlue-Rosex
Summary: A war like no other broke out and is spreading across the world fast. It's become a dog eat dog world, mutants and humans alike struggling just to survive. AU! OC story! Read and review please!
1. Chapter 1

xXxX Slow I suffocate, I'm cold and broken, alone XxXx

Four abrupt explosions penetrated the mingled sounds of the ocean and the wind along with the groan of the vessel. A dark silhouette lunged out of the door and grasped the railing with his right hand, and his side with his other. A few seconds later and a second silhouette appeared from the door, cautiously pursuing the first, his intent a deadly one.

The man in the door way raised his left arm, gun gripped firmly in his hand. He fired, once, twice, three times. The loud crack of the gun piercing the other man's ears. His body jerked back with the impact of the bullets. The vessel's bow suddenly dipped into the on coming waves, lifting the bullet riddled body and violently tossing it into the dark waters bellow.

The cold of the water caused a shock to run through his body as he plunged downward. The water swallowed him in a single gulp. He was propelled to the surface, but only for a second and he was once again plummeting downward. Panic started in the pit of his stomach, then it began to swell and spread throughout his body with a rapid pace.

_Climb! Climb upwards!_

He clawed furiously at the heavy, seemingly unmovable walls of water, kicking his feet as he did. He broke surface once again, thrashing about to stay above the water, only to be sucked back under. A new type of panic took over him and he found himself feet, no yards away from the surface. Again he plunged upward, struggling to break surface once more but he was loosing air fast. His world began to turn dark.

_Let it take you. It will bring you to peace, to your nirvana._

His body fell limp and he reached for that light, yearned for that peace and he had almost found it.

His chest heaved upward as if rising from the ocean once more for air, and his eyes shot open all in one liquid motion.

He groaned and, attempted to lift himself into a sitting position, but his body refused and he was forced back to the bed with a barely audible thump. Taking in a sharp breath of air he tried again, this time putting all the effort he had into sitting up. At last he had accomplished the simple but so seemingly difficult task.

When he was in a seated position he noticed he was sweating heavily, breaths coming in short gasps, mind spinning wildly, still trying to get over the nightmare. It felt so real though, everything from the water to the gun shots.

He looked to his right and found an ivy attached to his arm, he inspected it for a short moment before tearing it from his arm then, turning his body sideways he planted his feet on the ground. After taking a quick survey of the room, glancing at the beeping monitors sitting both to the right and, the left of the bed, then the walls white washed walls, he forced himself to stand up. On uneasy legs he took a few steps forward then stopped when a sharp pain ripped through his side causing him to crumble forward. He kept himself from falling by gripping onto one of the monitors for support.

As soon as his hand reached the monitor his body went rigid then, arched backward as the electricity from the monitor shot into his body, traveling in his veins and sending a familiar, odd sensation throughout his body.

Soon his body stopped convulsing and, the monitor went dead.

"What the hell? It's like I just absorbed the electricity...I..I should be dead" The boy whispered to himself, before noticing that he was now standing up right with little to no effort. He checked over himself, and his mobility seemed fine, nearly perfect. He studied his hands, turning them this way and that, nothing about him seemed odd. well besides his bandaged torso and the lack of clothes, away from the thin sweat pants.

A wave of panic washed over him as he fully absorbed the situation. The image of the monitor going dead was still very fresh in his mind. He kept going over the last few minutes, but no matter what theory he put to it, it simply did not make sense, yet somehow, something which was all too impossible happened with the monitor; it seemed to have healed him after he absorbed it's energy.

After a moment of stillness a new realization came to him.

"Where am I?" He spoke aloud as he pushed himself off the monitor and headed for the door.

_I'm in some kind of infirmary I know that much... but certainly this can't be a hospital, it's entirely too quite...too small..._

He took slow steps toward the door and hesitantly reached for the knob but not before glancing at the small glass window sitting a few inches above the knob. Upon seeing his reflection he stopped moving, and only stared blankly back at the face before him.

_Surely this cannot be my reflection, I recognize the face staring back at me right down to the scar and discolored eye, but I do not know it._

That's when the question came to him; "Who are you?" He asked the reflection, bringing his hand to the glass and lightly brushing it up against the reflection, slowly tracing the scar that fell over the reflections eye in a jagged line. His finger stopped at the middle f his cheek, where the scar had stopped and it sipped from the glass, landing limply by his side.

"Who am I?" He asked himself, but no answer came to him. He backed away from the door and squeezed his eyes shut. Who am I? The question seemed to repeat itself inside his head, leaving its never ending echo ringing in his ears.

Inching the door open he peered out into the hallway, and when he was sure no one was there he slipped out the door. As he walked down the hallway he kept as close to the wall as possible, should someone open one of the many doors and find him sneaking about.

He didn't know why but all of this seemed so natural to him, like he had done it before, although he had no recollection of ever doing it.

_Who am I?_

Slowly he made his way down the short hallway, then paused when he reached its end. Looking to the left then the right, he decided the coast was clear and he turned the corner.

_What is this place...some sort of school perhaps?_

_Where am I?_

"He can't stay here, we don't know anything about the guy. For all we know he could be a mutant hater, give our position away and get us all imprisoned." A deep male voice echoed down the hallway and put a pause to the boy's walking.

"You don't know that! He needs help, and that's just what we're going to give him. Once he's stable he can leave if he wishes, but for now he's our responsibility." Another voice replied to the first. This one sounded more feminine,and held a tinge of anger.

The voices stopped when the boy lost his balance and nearly fell over, but caught himself before he hit the ground.

_That's strange I was perfectly fine just a minute ago and now it feels like a heavy weight is pressing me down, along with an ever growing pain in my side, and chest..especially my chest..._

"Did you hear that?" The feminine voice from before asked followed by the sound of footsteps. The boy winced as the pain got worse and he looked down at his chest. His eyes widened when they fell upon the crimson colored blood seeping through the white bandages around. He gasped in pain and clutched his wound as he pushed himself up against the wall.

_It's as if the energy I absorbed was only temporary..._

The boy drug himself across the wall, trying to get as far away from the voices as possible. A dark red line trailing behind him on the wall, glistening under the florescent lights. As the boy moved the trail behind him grew in length and width alike.

"Hey hey hey! What are you doing out of bed!" The feminine voice rang from behind him. His heart sped up as the footsteps closed in on him and a fear like no other took hold of him, wrapped it's grimy arms around him, sucking him into a deep abyss.

Images flashed before his eyes, but they were gone as quick as they came. He saw hands made into fists, heard yelling along with the screams and pleads of a young child. Each scene was nearly the same and they all ended in red.

The boy yelled, trying to stop the heart breaking images from coming, to stop the fear and the pain alike. He slipped from the wall but was caught before he hit the ground.

A man who was of medium height and weight alike held the other boy up. His large light blue eyes flickered from the boy to the woman standing just a few inches away. The boy in his arms groaned and tried to pry himself from his captor's arms but he was far too weak.

"Who am I?" The boy muttered the one thought plaguing his mind, in a barely audible whisper. His eyes slowly rolled to back of his head when the pain became too much and he fell limp.

"He's out" The man who had caught the boy said to the woman standing by him. His features were contorted in a mix of fear and worry. He didn't know the boy, in fact he didn't even want him here, but he didn't want his death on his conscience or on anyone else's in the group.

The group was small, and the people in it haven't known each other for too long, they were all thrust together when the war came close to an end. The after math the war left is almost worst then the war it'self. If the group hadn't of found each other, a groups of mutant haters would have gone after them one by one, ripping them to shreds.

"Get him back to the infirmary. He's opened his stitches and he'll bleed out if we don't stich em' back up." white pupils flashed toward the girl as Ayden nodded in understanding. The man fixed the larger boy in a better position where he was now draped over one of his shoulders. The woman took her spot under his other arm and they half carried half dragged the unconscious, bullet riddled body towards the infirmary. Well, the man did most of the work, seeing as the large lump which announced the woman as pregnant made her work constricted.

He watched silently as the woman re-stitched the unknown boy's wounds, her fingers working with rapid and precise movements, careful to keep her long feline nails from grazing his bruised and scared skin.

"Nat" Large, deep brown eyes broke the concentration they had on the needle and slowly found their way toward the source of the voice. The man leaned up against the wall opposite of girl, his eyes focused on the floor, strands of dark brown hair fell from his pony.

"What if... what if he doesn't make it?" He said in a whispered voice, then glanced up at the girl, taking in her jet black hair which was pulled neatly back into a braid and her seemingly angelic face.

"Don't say that! He's going to make it. His wounds are re-stitched and as long as he rests he should be fine" Natalie paused before continuing.

"What I don't understand is how he was able to even get out of bed. With those kind of wounds...he should be dead" She concluded in a whisper, glancing back at the sleeping boy on the cot, taking in his ruffled dirty blonde hair, sharp features, and the way his mouth was twisted in pain. She feared for his life, even though he is just a stranger to her, her kind and caring heart surged for the wounded boy.

Her thoughts trailed off as she took notice of a scar on the underside of his left arm. Stepping closer she realized that this was no ordinary scar, it was in the shape of a phoenix and it looked to have been burned into the boy's skin.

"Why would he do this to himself?" She whispered to herself before she took notice of the man standing behind her, confusion etched onto his face.

"Who is this guy?" Nat asked aloud.

_Who am I?_

The boy's word's came back to the man, echoing in his head.

"I don't know" He replied in a low voice.

_I don't think he even knows..._

(Ok I fixed the female character, and will hopefully find a make character soon to fit in here :p )

xXxX Silent I go under, I am not afraid XxXx

Fingers fumbled inside of an old coat pocket, grazing over a small box, and picking at its opening flap. Once the flap was open, a finger wedged between it to keep it from closing, and two others found the object they were searching for. The fingers paused for a moment still within the pocket, holding the object delicately between them, taking in its smooth paper like texture; the familiar texture that brought reassurance and a sense of comfort to the owner of the still stalling fingers.

_I shouldn't do this! I promised him I would quit!_

Screamed the voice inside the owners head, but his body screamed even louder in protest, and the hand slid out of the pocket, slowly, shakily making its way to the lips of the owner. With the thin papery object pinched between his lips, his hand once again plunged into the same coat pocket. Once his fingers brushed up against the cold metal object they wrapped around its body, and brought that up to his lips too.

One hand brought the lighter up to the cigarette, and touched it to its end; the other guided the lighter downward about a fingers length, making sure it was close enough to the cigarette. A small flame kissed the end of the cigarette, and brought it to life.

The hooded figure slouched against the wall, and took a long and deep drag from the cigarette. His body loosened up from act; he seemed to melt right into the wall.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could you think this will solve anything? You made a promise…_

The hooded figure slid the sleeve of his right arm up, only a couple of inches above his wrist, and felt for the familiar object which always slumbered there. Slowly he ran his fingers along the tiny rounded beads of the chain, and found his way to the two rectangular objects attached.

"You don't understand how much I miss you Mirko, how much I need you." A soft voice with a touch of an Italian accent whispered to the sky.

"I've done something terrible, something I can't fix. No one can fix it." The figure sighed, and took another drag of his cigarette before speaking again. All the while, his fingers delicately traced the name etched into the small metal rectangles.

"The blood of an innocent woman stains my hands. She was such a sweet woman, she was different then the others Mirko. She loved me like her own, really loved me and she wasn't afraid of me…. She was so good to me, and I …I killed her Mirko!" The figure cried out, balling his hand into a fist, and clenched the dog tags to his chest.

"How many more will fall by my hands before I can gain control? Mirko, I can't let this happen again, I won't let this happen again!" The figure said, standing up, and reaching into his other pocket.

"That's why I've decided to join you Mirko, that way it will be impossible for me to hurt anyone else." The figure said, pulling a flask out of his pocket.

"I know I've made a promise to you all those years ago, but I'm sure you won't mind one last cigarette…one last drink?" The figure asked. Removing the cigarette from his lips, he allowed his right hand to flop to his side, the cigarette resting between two fingers. His other hand tightened itself around the flask, pausing for a moment then, slowly opened its lid.

He lifted the flask to his lips, and arched his neck as he took a deep swallow of the clear liquid. The figures face contorted from the bitter taste of the alcohol but, he savored the way it burned his throat as it made its way to the pit of his stomach. Immediately a wave of warmth washed over the figure, putting an end to his shivering from the cold.

"I will be with you soon brother." The figure whispered, pushing himself from the wall, pocketing the flask, and stamping out the cigarette. With his left arm outstretched, he drug his fingers along the wall as he walked, stepping to the side every so often to avoid running into dumpsters, and various other items you would expect to find in an alley way.

The figure walked with a steady pace, taking a drink from the flask every so often.

He had made his way out of they alley, and down the road, constantly keeping contact with the wall, as it gave him a better idea of where he was.

_You can't do this! What would Mirko think eh? He'd think you were a selfish bastard, wasting your life like this!_

As the figure walked the sound of passing cars pierced his ears, letting him know he was getting close to the road. He stopped for a moment and, took hold of the dog tags around his wrist once more. He unwound the chain from his wrist and held it close to his heart.

"The only thing I regret is never being able to enjoy one last sundown. It was in a book you read to me once. I can't remember its title, but there was this man who was dying and, his wife sat there with him in his bed, facing a window and they watched the sun go down together. When the sky became dark, the man took his last breath." The figure paused, and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Will you watch one last sunset for me brother?"

"For surely we will not...cannot end up in the same place. If there is an after life, they would have happily opened the gates of heaven for you. You were a good brother Mirco and a hero, I on the other hand am I murder and deserve the deepest pits of hell"

The boy walked straight into the busy street of New York, allowing the speeding cars to decide his destiny for him, his last sentence still hanging in the air.

xXxX You faceless lies, your weak dead heart, your dead black eyes XxXx

"The bloody cheater! She 'ad cards up 'er sleeves the 'ole time!" A large burly man with a cigar hanging out of his mouth yelled, holding the wrist of the girl in question and pulling the cards out of her sleeve.

"Whad ya say we teach this here gyp a lesson ey boys?" The man beside him said with a wicked smile, motioning for his "boys" to fallow. The other men at the poker table soon stood up, dropping their cards onto the table, some taking another swig of their alcohol, others grunting in frustration.

"Let me go." The girl said simply, venom lacing her words.

"Ya cheated us outta our money an now ya gonna pay!" The man laughed, his lips curling up, revealing his rotten teeth. The rank oder of his alcohol breath reaching the nostrils of the girl.

"How about if I do ya one better handsome." The girl said in a seductive tone, the lie slipping through her teeth with ease.

"Oh ya? What'ya have in mind doll face." The man replied, gripping the girl by her waist and pulling her closer. She was sure of what he had in mind, and it could be described in one single word, rape. He had it written all over his face, and if she were any other ordinary girl she would have been scared out of her mind, trying to escape. But an ordinary girl, she was not.

"It's a surprise." The girl cooed into the mans ear, pulling away from him and trailing a finger under his chin while slowly walking away from him.

A grin made its way onto the man's face as he fallowed after her, signaling his "boys" to stay back with his other hand.

The girl lead him into the alley way behind the bar, and pushed the man up against the wall. The man looked the girl up and down, taking in first, her black high heeled boots fallowed by her ripped jeans which were just low enough to give the man a peak at her thong, then up to the white strapless tube top which ended just above her belly button, the ring attatched glistened in the moonlight.

The girl leaned forward, her lips brushing up against the man's ear sending chills down his spin.

"First, tell me a secret." The girl whispered, gently rubbing her leg against the mans inner thigh, and running her fingers down his torso.

"A...anything." The man stuttered under the girl's grasp.

"Tell me, what is your greatest fear." The girl asked, biting at the man's collar bone.

"My greatest fear eh?" The man asked, groaning under the pressure of the girl's lips. A side ways smile crept onto the girls face as she looked up at him, her large hazel eyes seemed to look straight through him.

"What do I get if I tell ya?" The man replied, gripping the front of the girls jeans and pulling her closer.

"You'll never find out if you don't" The girl replied, placing her hands atop the man's and pulling them away from her, then backed away from the man slowly, leaving behind the soft touch of her fingers. She began to walk in the other direction, her hips swaying to the rhythm of her steps, hypnotizing the man stuck up against the wall.

"Why do ya wanna know my fears eh?" The man asked a little suspisious.

"You aint wanna those freak are ya?" He asked, his eyes narrowing for a second.

"Oh, no no you've got me all wrong big guy. But, look if ya wanna play it that way, I'll leave" The girl replied, the heels of her boots clicking against the ground.

"I uhh.. no no wait! I didn't mean it like that! It's just that well, with the war going on ya can neva be too careful ya know? Besides, even if ya were a freak, ya are fucking hot and.." The man trailed off when the girl turned back toward him.

"You'd want me anyway" The girl finished, slowly walking back up to the man.

"It's alright hon, it's only a question" The girl said with a light laugh, hooking her fingers in the mans belt loops and thrusting her hips forward.

"Spiders" The man whispered, a crooked smile playing at his lips.

"I don't believe a big, strong man like you would be afraid of a little spider." The girl replied, trailing her fingers along the mans jaw line, then shoving him into the wall. Regardless of her size compared to the man, he slammed into the wall with a soft thud.

"I.." The man began to say but was cut off when the girl's hand found it's way down to his crotch playfully.

"You are one nasty bastard." The girl gasped when the man grabbed the back of her jeans.

The man laughed at what the girl said, and a sly smile made its way onto the girls lips before she leaned in for the fatal kiss. As the girl pulled away from the man he took a desperate breath of air and seemed to melt into the wall.

"Wanna know my biggest secret" The girl whispered into the man's ear. The man nodded in reply, eager for more.

"I am one of those freaks, and that kiss just sealed your fate" The girl said, her lips curling into malignant smile.

The man's eyes grew wide as he realized what she said.

"I don believe ya! Lying bitch! Get back here so I can..." He tried to say but was cut off.

"Do what eh? rape me like you've done to so many others?" The girl asked, backing away from the man.

"Not anymore lard ass, your days of rape and murder are over, as well as your life" She yelled.

"What the hell, how do ya? I never killed no one! Fucking cheating bitch, you'll pay for this!" The man yelled angrily and made a move for the girl but stopped when a searing pain shot through his head.

"Uh uh uh" She tisked "I don't think you understand. You see since you told me your fear you gave me entrance into your mind, and that disgusting kiss you savored so much has given me the contact I need to warp your mind and make your life a living hell, or better yet kill you, and send you straight to the actual place" The girl said, her hazel eyes boring into the man's eyes.

"Were going to play a game of survivor, it's one of my favorites" The girl said seductively, and laughed lightly. The man tried to open his mouth but all he got out of it was another wave of pain which brought him to his knees.

"Man v.s man's biggest fear?" She taunted. The man shook his head violently in reply.

"Good bye you mother fucking bastard" The girl said, venom dripping from her every word then walked away.

When the man's whimpering cries caught her attention she turned around.

"Oh don't worry hon, we'll meet again sometime, in hell that is" And with that she walked away, leaving the man to his fate.

As she walked to the other side of the alley she wiped her mouth clean of the disgusting residue left from the sloppy kiss. As she reached the end of he alley she could hear the man screaming behind her. Satisfaction was the only thing she felt as she delved into that bastard's mind and brought his biggest fears to life.

Not long after, a gun shot could be heard along with the sickening, guttural sounds coming from the man's throat as a large red bubble formed in his mouth before it popped and his body fell limp.

xXxX All my life, all my time, I don't wanna come back around tonight XxXx

"What have I told you about talking back, boy?" He said, his fierce blue eyes burning into the very core of my being. Slowly, I inched toward the door which was only a few feet away, but it felt like an impossible distance. I wanted to bolt for the door right then and there, but I knew I'd never make it, not with him standing so close. If I tried to run, and he caught me I'd only be making things worse for myself. This is a lesson I learned a few years back and never have I tried to leave the house again, but now I'm more desperate than ever before.

The last time I had tried to escape I got one of the worst punishments of my life. That night he had left me with a scar that I'll wear for the rest of my life, one that starts just bellow my chin and runs down my neck and a jagged line. This is a scar that will keep that night forever in my memories; I will never be allowed to forget what he did to me.

I wanted so badly to feel the warmth of the sun upon my skin, to smell the fresh scent of the coming winter, to be free. In all of the seven years of my life I have only been aloud outside twice.

Once a very long time ago, when I was but a babbling infant my parents had taken me with them on a picnic, both of them. I think this was the one time my father didn't despise me, didn't wish me dead. Of course I don't remember this day but I do have proof it happened; a picture.

Often times during the night, I'd be jolted out of my sleep by the sound of loud booming voices which argued over only what I could assume was money. The crashes of glass upon wood, chairs upon floor, flesh upon flesh and even the loud crack of a gun from upstairs would cause my blood to turn. I knew they were beating him, threatening the fat, lying, cheating bastard for the money he owed them. I knew that I shouldn't but, for some reason I can't understand I was scared for him in these moments, perhaps I was scared that they would kill him, and I'd be stuck in the basement; starved to death.

When I'd wake in the middle of the night, the loud noises penetrating the thick cement walls of the basement, I'd dig the picture out of the hole I kept it in. With the picture clutched to my chest, its image burned into my mind, I'd pretend I was there again.

Gone would be the deafening cries from upstairs, and gone would be the fear in my heart, instead it'd be replaced by joy, an emotion I know longer know how to feel. In these short moments I was no longer the trembling child in the basement, but I was the happy child nestled in my mother's warm embrace, the voice of my father a soothing and reassuring tone, and not one so filled with anger and hatred.

His voice…

"I asked you a question damn it!" He roared, bringing me back to the present.

"I'm sorry sir." I apologized. I kept my eyes locked onto the door, struggling to keep my composure. Stay strong! Don't let him win! These six words repeated themselves in my head; an uninterrupted rhythm of reassurance.

"Sorry doesn't cut it boy. I told you what I would do if you talked out of line again." He hissed, taking slow taunting steps forward. I held my breath as his large silhouette inched closer, and closer until his shadow devoured me whole.

I shrank back against the wall, my hands reaching its surface first fallowed shortly after, my back and eventually my head which I pressed as close to the wall as I could get, as if somehow I could force myself through the wall to somewhere safe. I knew I wouldn't make it through whatever he had planned for me tonight when I saw his eyebrows pull together slowly and his eyes glaze over with a predatory gleam.

"You remember what I told you would happen if you disobeyed me again, correct?" He said in a menacing voice, the rhythm of my chant faltered and I flinched. His sinister laugh filled the room, and bounced off its walls before leaving a ringing echo in my ears. I swallowed hard as he leant in closer, his nose barely brushing up against mine, but it was enough to make me shutter.

"Yes sir! I'm sorry…I I didn't mean to! Please don't beat me again!" I cried out in remembrance of the beating I received the last time I spoke out of line. I could still feel the unbearable pain, and still hear my own screams ringing in my ears. A wide grin slowly spread across his face making his expression all the more terrifying. I held a tiny hand in front of my face in a vain attempt to protect myself.

"Tsk tsk tsk, don't make this harder than it has to be boy." He said, shaking a finger at me.

"Move your hand boy" He commanded, but I was unable to move. I knew that if I didn't obey him I'd only make things a lot worse for myself but my limbs protested; I was glued to the spot. When I didn't move he gave me an angry look, notifying me that whatever he had in mind this time, would make the punishment I received last time seem like a simple slap in the face in comparison.

"I said move your damn hand!" He shouted, his face flushed an angry red and the veins in his neck swelled up rapidly. It seemed that at any second they would burst. He glared me down with blood shot eyes under a thick sheet of dirty blonde bangs.

A part of me wanted to obey him, knowing I'd only make things worse, but I couldn't force my body to make a move, I was so scared. In a matter of second a large hand lashed out of the darkness and grabbed a hold of my own and shoved it out of the way with such force, the back of my hand smacked up against the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away from him, anticipating what was to come next.

The right side of my face met the wall with a painful greeting. Immediately after, I could feel the warmth of fresh blood stream down my face, starting just under my right eye. A numb pulsing heat emanated from the spot on the left side of my face where his knuckles made contact. I wanted to break down right then and there, to allow the tears I've been holding back to flow, but instead I clenched my teeth and dug my nails into the palms of my hands, to force my attention away from the pain in my face.

I have to remain strong, if I show weakness I'll only be giving him exactly what he wants. I sucked in a deep breath of air and turned back toward him, looking directly into his eyes and letting him know he hadn't won, not yet. He grunted in anger, and with a large hand he reached out, and grabbed a handful of my long straggly hair. I struggled against him, but that only resulted in him yanking me off of my feet and an explosion of pain to erupt from the top of my head. I cried out and clawed feebly at his hands.

"Let me go!" He laughed in spite of my pain, and pulled me forward to where I was now at his eye level, starring directly into the anger ridden face of my father. When I saw the look in his eyes I knew I had made a mistake.

"Of course." He sneered, his lips curling into a wicked smile, revealing his rotten teeth. With a forceful push he released me; the momentum sent me crashing into the wall. I cried out as the back of my head slammed into the wall, bounced forward then landed back on the wall. Immediately I felt a sickening warmth at the back of my head. I fell to the ground whimpering, and clutching my head. When I pulled my hand away sure enough, it was stained a deep red.

"Don't move, I'll be back with the rest of your punishment boy." And with that, he disappeared around the corner.

_Admit defeat, let him take your life; let him end this pain once and for all!_

The voice in my head screamed. Some part of me wanted to listen, but the other part; the stronger part refused to give up so easily. I took a deep breath and forced myself to stand, forced myself to take those few uneasy steps toward the door. I looked behind me and when I saw no sign of him, I reached up with a trembling hand and took hold of the knob. Slowly I turned the knob and slid the door open just enough for my tiny body to slip through. Once the cool outside air hit my face, my heart sped up.

As soon as my feet touched the bare wood of the front steps I knew I was free; I only needed to make it to the end of the driveway.

I was in such a hurry, my legs fumbled under me and I fell face first into the unforgiving ground. I winced when I hit the ground, scrambled back to my feet and kept running. I was halfway down the drive way when the slamming of the door caught my attention.

For a moment I turned back, and when my eyes landed on the silhouette of my father I felt my heart skip a beat. Automatically my head snapped forward and I ran as fast as my uneasy legs would carry me.

"Get back here you piece of shit! I'll send your sorry ass to the grave!" My father's angry voice rang out above my ragged breathing, causing an icy cold shiver to snake down my spine. My father's heavy foot falls followed shortly behind. I was a few steps until the end of the driveway by the time he had caught up with me; he grabbed a hold of my shirt, and pulled.

I screamed, and kicked at him, but to no avail. He held me up by my shirt, my feet dangled under me, trying desperately to find the ground. I had managed to wiggle free from my shirt and landed on the ground with a thud. Before my father had even realized what had happened I was on my feet again, half running, half crawling to the end of the drive way.

_If I could just make it to the road, I'd be free._

A heavy sigh of relief escaped my lips as my feet made contact with the road, but I kept moving. A shrill beeping from behind me caused a wave of relief to wash over me. I turned back for the last time and watched as my father screamed, and cussed at me. He paced the ground, stomping his feet and waving his fists angrily in the air. He wouldn't be able to follow me because the bracelet he wore would shock him if he stepped foot onto the road.

_Thanks god for house arrest..._

His shouts, and cursing followed me down the road, but I knew I had done it, I had finally escaped his prison. A crash at my feet caused me to jump. Another crash sent me stumbling back. My eyes grew wide when I saw a glass bottle hurtling my way. I rolled out of the way, scrambled to my feet and tore down the road. My heart pounded in my chest as I ran, my legs felt like they would buckle underneath me at any moment, but I forced myself to move forward.

I kept running until my legs would no longer carry me and I fell forward. Now on my hands and knees I looked to the left and right, taking in the slummy alley ways and the graffiti covered walls. A sickening feeling came over me as I realized where I was at. Just as I was about get up I was yanked up from my spot by my hair.

"Well well well, look what we have here boys." A harsh voice shouted into the night. I tried everything I could to get away from my capture but nothing worked.

I could hear laughter all around me, accompanied by footsteps. I squeezed my eyes shut and wished for it all to just go away, knowing I'd probably die right here. When I opened my eyes next I found myself on the ground looking up at my captures dark silhouette.

"What you say we do wit 'im?" A deep voice boomed from my right.

"We could always bring 'im into the gang, he's young, we can make him into the perfect thief." Another voice replied. I felt myself being lifted from the ground then slammed into a wall.

"Look at 'im! He's scrawny! And he….wait a second…." The voice trailed off. I felt a warm current of air on my face before the rank smell of alcohol found it's way up my nostrils.

"In't this Jaeger's kid? That lard ass still owes me money! What do you say we mess with the guy, kill his kid, and leave 'im on his front steps?" The guy laughed, taking a step back from me, and turning toward his friends who laughed in agreement. My eyes grew wide as I listened to them trade off different ways they could kill me.

Soon the talking stopped and they turned toward me. Large, grimy hands lashed out of the dark and I was spun on the spot then slammed once again into the wall face first. I grunted in pain as my face collided with the wall, then a tearing sound from behind me caught my attention before I felt a cold breeze on my back side.

An overwhelming fear crept over me as I realized what they were doing, and not a moment later did they yank my pants down.

"No don't! Please stop!" I yelled, choking on my own tears. I tried to get away from them but was slammed into the wall again and again. The sound of a belt being unloosed echoed throughout the alley.

"No!" The boy screamed at the top of his lungs, pulling himself from the nightmare. He was hunched over on his hands and knees, nails digging into the ground, face contorted in fear. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. When he stopped shaking he propped himself up against the wall and wiped at his tear stained face.

"It was ten years ago! Forget about it already!" He yelled in frustration, slamming the back of his head into the wall in frustration.

He sighed heavily and instinctively grabbed for the handle sitting at his side. In one liquid motion he was standing up, guitar case gripped in his right hand.

_Where to now? You can't keep living like this! Your going to get yourself killed!_

The voice inside his head screamed, and he knew it was right.

_I've survived this long haven't I? It'll be ok...stop worrying _He replied to the voice.

"You are crazy you know this?" He asked, taking off his top hat and twirling it about his forefinger as he walked to the other end of the alley way.

"I don't think I've noticed...why whatever do you mean?" He asked, thrusting his hands upward and sending the hat flying above him. Taking a step forward and nearly loosing his balance he caught the hat softly on his finger, with one foot poised in the air.

"Your talking to yourself for crying out loud!" He yelled, regaining his balance and walking forward.

"Oh, I guess you are right. I am talking to myself!" He laughed, ignoring the gunshots and cries in the near distance. Then, jumping into the air and clicking his heels, he rounded the corner. The sidewalk was vacant with the exception of a few people, which is normal for this time of night. Most people are in their houses hiding away from the horror that took place outside.

The boy didn't blame them, with the government receding as it did, no longer was there order, and no longer were there laws. People are killed everyday, be them human or mutant, and no one did anything to stop it. Everyone is so driven to kill the other race off that they have forgotten who had started the war, what side provoked the other. Not even the boy remember this, and that he thought was truly sad; when two races have been fighting for so long...

xXxX There's no time for us, there's no place for us XxXx

White light of the moon pierced the thick veil of trees, winding around their awkward, bent bodies and casting faint shadows on the forest floor. The distant hoot of an owl made up the bass line for the lonely song of the forest. A dark figure in the distance leaned up against a tree, hands shoved in his pockets and hood draped securely over his head.

"Your late" A deep voice boomed from under the hood. However menacing the voice sounded, accusing it was not.

"The trek here is not an easy one, you know this as well as I" A second figure came into view, his gaunt features shadowed by dark colored and very abused coat. He pulled the coat closer to him to shield himself from the harsh winds.

"Yes, yes. That isn't important at the moment, what is important is that you're here and very much alive" The figure against the tree replied, pulling off his hood and reveling a sight many would cringe at. The entire left side of the man's face was disoriented from where the vicious tongue of an electric fire lapped at his skin. Apart from the reddish scar, the rest of his skin was a ghastly blue, and to complete the look, two golden orbs took the place of eyes. You could say he was the splitting image of horror.

He walked toward the smaller, younger figure and placed a large blue hand which was covered with miscellaneous scars on his shoulder.

"Come, we need to move quickly" The larger man said, urging the younger man to move.

"What if this doesn't work?" The younger man whispered, white puffs of breath escaping his lips as he spoke.

"It will work, You need to have faith in yourself. Now move, if we're spotted, it's all over" The younger man took a step back away from the older man and brushed his reassuring hand aside.

"I'm not sure I can do this. And what if I can't, what do we do then?"

"Die" The simple word was hissed with an icy tone. A look of shock and surprise light up on the younger man's concealed face, then melted away just as quickly.

"Die?" The word was repeated with just as icy as a tone.

"Yes, die" Understand this, he has found out about our plan, and he and his men no doubt, are searching for us at this very moment. I didn't want to tell you this, it could have ruined the plan"

"How would that have ruined the plan? You could have given me a heads up! For fucks sake I could have gotten killed trying to get here!" The younger man was enraged by now.

"Keep your voice down! Do you really want to die?"

"Let's just go. This has to be done and it has to be done now" The younger man pushed past his elder.

"Agreed. It's only a matter of time before they're here, and when they get here they'll show no mercy, he'll show no mercy"

"Are you saying that not only are they looking for us, they know the exact place we are! How did they, how did he figure out our rendezvous?"

"I'm not sure, but that isn't important! you have to go now! you haven't much time left!"

"Not important? If I'm not mistaken you've implied that only I will make it out alive. You're speaking of your own death and that's not important?" the younger man protested.

I can't just leave you here to be killed! We'll go together!" He demanded.

"Fine, fine! we'll go together, now move!" The older man yelled over the loud roar of the wind, and the two were off, running deeper into the woods.

It was only a matter of minutes before the two came face to face with an iron gate which was blocking what looked to be the opening of a cave. The younger man unlocked the gate and rushed inside but, the older man stopped in his tracks. He surveyed his surroundings for a brief moment before shutting the gate in front of him. At the sound of the gate shutting and the lock clicking into place, the younger man snapped around.

"No" The younger man whispered, shaking his head and walking toward the gate.

"No no no! You can't do this!" He hissed as he ran toward the gate.

"It has to happen this way" The older man said, his eyed tired and sad. He was ready for his end.

"no no! It doesn't have to! Let me take you with me, let me try!"

"My death is inevitable, and if you try to take us both, yours will be too"

"Don't say that! We can do this together! No one has to die!" The younger man please, gripping the bars of the gate.

"Listen!" The distant sound of foot steps, accompanied by a gruff and very angry voice could be heard.

"You need to go! I'll create a diversion!"

You can't do this! I won't let you!" The younger man yelled, his voice straining under his anger and confusion. He tried to yank the door open but it wouldn't budge, it was locked from the outside in.

"You've killed yourself! You've done this to yourself!" The younger man's voice was swelling with raw emotion.

"Look at me!" The older man roared under his breath. It seemed at this moment everything stopped.

"And listen to what I have to say! The future depends on you, you must go back and prevent this from ever happening! Only you can!" There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

"I must die so that you may live, it can't happen any other way. Now go back, go back in time and stop this from ever happening, stop him from destroying the world!"

"I'll kill him! If not for the fate of the world, then to avenge you! He will die!"

"Do not kill him unless you have to. He does not need to die, he..."

"And yet you do?" The younger man hissed, his deep brown eyes burning with anger.

"He was once a good man. He can be made into the savior this world needs. It is up to you to decide his fate! You must become his teacher and he, your pupil"

"His fate and the world's alike rest on your hands"

"Goodbye Tarquinn, and please for the sake of all of us, be careful" The older man said in a whispered tone before stepping away from the gate and taking off toward the anger ridden voice and, toward his death.


	2. Chapter 2

The click of a door shutting, however soft alerted the young woman on the couch and her large deep brown eyes drifted to the door way.

A tall dark skinned man stood in the door way, his eyes grew slightly larger when he spotted the woman. His heart sank when he saw the disapointed look clearly etched onto her beautiful features.

"Nice of you to come home" The woman said, accusation blanketing her words.

"I'm sorry baby I..."

"I don't wanna hear it Andre!" The woman declared angrily, standing up from the couch and stalking down the hallway.

"Natalie wait! I really am sorry, it's just that..." Andre attempted to apologize once again, but was unsucessful when his girlfriend cut him off.

"No Andre, no more excuses. You said you were going to quit! You said this would all be over!" Natalie yelled, tears making their way to her eyes.

"It's not that easy Nat, please try to understand" Andre pleaded, walking after Natalie.

"No Andre, you understand. I can't do this, I can't be a mother with a baby daddy runnin' around with a gang shooting people up! I don't want to do this alone Andre!" Natalie yelled, then her eyes widened when she realized what she said.

"Nat? You're... pregnant?" The man asked, staring in disbelief and shock at Natalie.

"Oh god, Andre... I was going to tell you, I just.. I was..." The young woman stuttered, unsure of what exactly to say.

"When? When would you have told me Natalie? Right before the thing came out?" Andre hissed, his voice laced with anger.

"The thing? It's your fucking child Andre! He's your blood too!" Natalie shouted, the tears streaming down her face.

"No, no,! you've got to get rid of it, we can't be parents. I can't be a father!" Andre yelled, his eyes full of fear and his voice gaining volume with every word.

"How can you say this? We could make this work if we tried! Get out of the gang Andre, then we can move away from this dump and raise this baby properly" The hysterical young woman tried to reason with Andre.

"No Natalie, we can't to this! I'm not cut out to be a father, I'll be no good to the child! Your too young, and there's so many things that could go wrong. Nat, I love you and I don't want you risking your life for this thing" Andre replied, unable to understand how she thought this could work.

"Thing? Again with that? For Christs sake Andre, can't you just give this child a chance? For me?" Natalie begged, unable to contain herself. She loves Andre with all her heart, but she couldn't understand why he would say this, why he was acting this way.

"Do you really want to bring a child up in this hell hole of a world! What if , what if it was born with a mutation? Would you really want it growing up fearing for it's life and fighting for survive? Natalie think about it! You can't bring a child into this war!" Andre yelled, then grew silent when his eyes fell onto Natalie's figure which was now in a heap on the floor, tears racking her body violently.

"Ok, I get it. If you'd rather stay with your gang and collect even more blood on your hands, be my guest. You want nothing to do with this baby? Then you want nothing to do with me!" The eighteen year old hissed, the pain tearing at her heart and ripping it's seems. Andre was barley containing himself, unable to watch the woman he was completely in love with cry, cry because of him.

Andre knelt down in front of Natalie and cupped her face in his hands, gently making her look at him.

"I want everything to do with you. Natalie I love you, I love you with every fiber of my being. And if this is what you really want, I'll be by your side every step of the way" He paused.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I was just, I'm afraid Natalie. If afraid for you, and for the baby. If anything was to happen to you, I don't know if I could live with myself. I'll... I'll leave the gang for good and I'll clean up my act, I promise. Can you forgive me?" Andre finished in a near whisper, gazing into Natalie deep brown, almond shaped eyed.

"I love you too Andre, but how do I know you'll stay true to your words?" The distraught teenage asked, sniffling.

"Tonight. We'll leave tonight. I'll pack the car and we can even stop by drug store and get some baby supplies. We'll get out of this dump, find somewhere safe and raise this baby right" Andre said, wiping away Natalies tears with a gentle thumb.

"baby... you said baby" Natalie said smiling. Andre pulled Natalie into a kiss and they lingered there for a moment before breaking away.

"Tonight" Natalie agreed happily, and the couple embraced each other once more.

Natalie awoke from her dream when she heard a yell. She looked around to find her sleeping boyfriend snuggled up at her side and gently pushed him away. A smile made it's way onto her face as she reflected on her dream...only that day hadn't gone quite the same way.

That night Andre came home at three in the morning. She had waited up all night for him, eager to hear that he had finally left the gang. He promised he was going to, but for the past few weeks she handn't seen any difference. At the time she was about six weeks along and wanted so badly to tell her beloved about the miracle she was carrying, but she was scared.

She was scared that he would react badly, that he'd leave her and she'd be forced to bring this baby up on her own. Her fear became reality when she let it slip that she was pregnant. Andre flipped out on her and left the house in anger. She had cried through out the entire night, coming to the conclusion that she would leave, go on her own and bring this baby up right. When she woke she found Andre at the door, and all around his feet was a puddle of blood that just kept on getting bigger. She had screamed and rushed to his aid. He explained that he went back to the gang, to quit but they wouldn't let him walk, not with what he knew. He barely escaped but not unscathed, he took a shot in the side.

Andre told Natalie that when he went back to the gang the thought had settled into his mind, and hit him like a brick. He couldn't stand the thought of living without her. He said he'd get her out of there, and they would find a safe place. He explained how much he loved her and how much it would kill him if she left without him. She forgave him, they did leave and they did find somewhere safe. For a while they stayed in various apartments, never staying too many nights in one spot, afraid that the angry gang members would find them.

After a month of living on the run, they found a group of mutants who so selflessly gave them shelter. Although they were reluctant at first to let a human into their sanctuary, they have come to learn Andre isn't like the other humans. Natalie is now six months along and both her and Andre are a part of the family. The group they now reside in is mostly made up of children, elderly, the sick and wounded alike.

They try to help all the mutants they can, by offering food, medical attention and a place to sleep. Although they haven't much resources, they are never selfish and are nearly always willing to help another mutant out, and occasionally a human of course. Most of the mutants they help only stay for a night or a few days but some decide to stay for good and the family has gradually gotten larger as the war prolonged. The group has made a run down school their shelter and have set up an infirmary inside.

An elongated, pain filled cry echoed down the hallway and cause Natalie to jump. Quietly, she got up from her cot without waking Andre, and walked to to doorway. Standing in the doorway, a wave of nausea washed over her but she forced it back and headed down the hall way toward the pain filled cries. Thoughts of the bullet riddled boy plagued her mind as she walked. She wasn't sure how, but Andre had found the boy when on a run for food and medical supplies.

Andre came back from the run, only instead of the supplies he was suppose to be carrying, he was half carrying, half dragging a boy who was soaking wet and covered from head to toe in blood. She pushed away the image that was still very fresh in her mind and continued to walk. When he had brought the boy in, she and some of the other "nurses" stitched up the multiple bullet wounds, thankfully they all passed through and no bullets were lodged into his chest cavity. He was also severely dehydrated so they hooked him up to an ivy.

She had prayed that night, with tears standing in her eyes, asking her beloved god to allow this boy to live. Her heart aches every time she thinks of the boy and his condition. They haven't much medical supplies and with wounds as bad as his, not to mention the trauma caused by the ice cold water, who knows if he would even wake up the next morning.

Andre told her that he spotted the boy floating down stream, when he went down to the river to catch some fish for dinner. He thinks maybe he had floated down from the ocean that connects to this river. When he spotted the body, he immediately jumped in after it, and when he found that the boy was still breathing, barely, but breathing nonetheless, he didn't think twice before rushing him back here.

"No! Please don't!" A fearful cry erupted from the infirmary. This startled Natalie and she began to run toward the room, fearing what she might find. Regardless of her condition she was able to speedily make it to the infirmary. When she entered the room, what she saw nearly broker her heart. The boy in the cot was yelling at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face, and his head tossing from side to side. Tiny beads of sweat coated his forehead, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

"No!" He kept repeating the word, his chest was heaving up and down and his breathing was sporadic. She immediately ran to his side, and gently tried to wake him from his nightmare. The boy's hand shot out and grabbed Natalie's arm in a death grip, though his eyes remained shut, and his breathing grew even more sporadic and quick. Natalie gasped in surprise when the boy grabbed her arm and she tried to pull away but he wouldn't budge.

All of a sudden his eyes shot open, blue eyes widened in fear, but not really looking at the woman before him. Natalie realized he was still stuck in his nightmare and desperately tried pry her self free.

"No! Don't go! please... you can't leave me here!" The boy cried, his grip tightening around the woman's wrist. The woman's heart did a flip, she was both frightened of the boy and sorry for him. He must be having a terrible nightmare, she thought. With her free hand she managed to slide the drawer of the small dresser by the bed open. When she pulled her hand out she hand firmly grasped in her fist, a syringe filled with clear liquid. She was able to inject the liquid in the ivy with the boys iron grip still around her wrist.

The boy's grip soon loosened and his hand fell away from Natalie's arm. His eye lids fell over his eyes, and his breathing calmed; the clear liquid did it's job.

"You should sleep peacefully now" Natalie whispered, pulling the thin blanket further over the boy. Quietly, she left the infirmary and headed back to her room, to her boyfriend. All the while she walked, she had rubbed at her wrist, not really noticing the raw, red line the boy had left around it.

That night Natalie had silently prayed for the boy again.

xXxX Bury me softly in this womb, I give this part of me for you XxXx

The sound of a car horn alerted the boy that his fate was soon to be sealed and he would once again be with his brother. Cold wind brushed up against his cheeks as the speeding cars whipped by him. The screech of tire against road pierced the nights air as a car fought against the slick road to come to a stop, but it couldn't get a good enough grip and kept sliding forward toward the boy at a fatal speed. Bright light burned upon the boy's dead eyes, illuminating the fear etched into his face.

A loud rhythmic thunder pounded in the boy's chest, reverberating throughout his body and leaving it's deafening ring in his ears. The boy held his breath as the car inched forward, and he awaited the impact that was soon to come, but it never did. Dumbfounded the boy let out the breath he had been holding and tried to focus on where the car would be.

Rain pelted the hood of the cars around the boy, giving him a near perfect image of what was going on around him. Cars were facing this way and that all around him, in a giant mass of metal. Then it caught his attention, a tall slightly hunched over figure stood before him, between him and the should have been, maker of his death.

"Crazy ass kid! What do you think you're doing!" An angry voice came from the figure before the boy.

Silence.

"Why?" A muttered breathy whisper formed on the lips of the boy.

"Why what? Why save your sorry ass? Great question, now answer mine. What the hell were you thinking?" The gruff voice from before came again but this time it was closer.

"You! you took it from me" The boy stuttered angrily.

"Excuse you?" The man asked before walking closer to the boy who stood, clutching his left hand to his right wrist.

"I could have been reunited with him, now that chance is gone. Your at fault" The boy said in a monotone voice and continued to mumble to himself.

"Look kid, I didn't have to save your stupid ass alright? I just happened to be in a hurry and don't want to get held up because of some suicidal idiot got it?"

"You shouldn't have done it. It'll only bring more pain... more death" The boy slurred, stepping backward.

"Alright here's the deal; you are suicidal, mental and obviously really drunk. I'm not about to leave you in the middle of the street so my good deed can go to shit and you can succeed in killing yourself. I'm also not about to be late, you're coming with me." The man said, grabbing a hold of the boy with his right hand and diggin his thumb and index finger into his skin.

"Let me go" The boy demanded, noticing the awkwardness in the man's grip, there was only an intense pressure from the two fingers, as if the other's didn't exist. The boy could feel the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach when the man didn't let go.

"I said let me go!" The boy shouted, using his free arm to send a large sound wave at the man. The man was knocked backward, landing on his ass.

"What a funny sense of humor fate has" The man said to himself, thinking that he was just on his way to see his good friend, an old friend who goes by the name of Charles Xavier. As all of you know, Charles is the professor and the founder of "Xavier's institute for gifted youngsters", in other words a safe haven for mutants. What a coincidence it was for him to run into a mutant on his way.

_Is he one of Charles's students? If so, I'll have to talk to him about letting his students run drunk in the streets._

The man thought as he pulled himself up from the ground, but once he was standing again, the boy was nowhere to be seen. With the heavy rain masking any such sound as footsteps, and with the thick sheets coming down in rapid concession it was impossible to see a foot in front of you. The man pulled his hood over his head and continued to walk his way to the mansion, trying to put the boy from his mind. With so many questions prodding his brain it was impossible not to wonder who the boy was.

This isn't the last time he'd run into the boy, and next time he won't let him slip from his grasp.

xXxX I'd like to fly away but my wings have been so denied XxXx

The silhouette of a figure camouflaged by the dark could hardly be seen kneeling before a small, fairly new gravestone.

"Happy birthday Ebony" A soft voice just above a whisper blended into the wind and filled the sky where it had soon faded. A pale hand poked out from the shadowy veil the night shrouded the figure in. A single white rose rested gently in it's grasp. Slowly and ever so delicately the rose was lowered to the ground, as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

"I guess this is goodbye...for now" The last words were finished in a breathy whisper.

"No more midnight visits, no more white roses, the same goes for you too mother" The figure said, his gaze pointed skyward, studying the empty night sky before his eyes found the moon. He sat there for a moment, becoming lost in the moon's beauty.

Faint screams filled his ears and the horrible memories came rushing back, but as soon as they touched the surface he forced them back, and they remained dormant in the back of his mind. Memories that he could not erase, memories that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I must leave you, both of you. I can't stick around here any longer, mutant hunters are closing in on the area and it's not safe anymore" He shrugged his backpack on, made sure his sword was secure in it's sheath on his back, and his pistol at his side.

"I promise, I won't forget you, I don't think I could even if I tried...especially not after what they did to you" The unknown figure paused for a moment, the screams making their way back into his thoughts with frightening volume. Flashes of broken memory fought through his mental shield and made them selves blatantly clear to him. Struggling under the painful memories, he was brought to his knees.

"No! No, please... stop!" The young man yelled, clutching his head and willing the memories to stop. It was enough that he had to witness this, why do the memories have to plague him? Their hear breaking screams taunt him on a daily basis, and guilt overwhelms him at the fact that he could do nothing to stop it...

A sudden, slight pressure at his shoulder woke him from his stupor. When he opened his eyes, and looked to his left, and what he saw caused his heart to skip a beat. Before him stood a young girl in a white gown which brushed up against the ground. Soft, golden yellow hair fell past her shoulders and flowed down to her hips in a straight waterfall. Sad blue eyes gazed down at the older boy, and thin, pale pink lips curled into a small smile as she said his name.

"Paul" The young girl, who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen said, her voice soft and gentle.

"Ebony?" The boy gasped, taken aback by the girl before him.

"This isn't possible... you, you can't be here... you're dead for fucks sake! Your dead!" The young man also known as Paul couldn't wrap his head around what was going on. He stared blankly at his dead younger sister, taking in her delicate features.

This couldn't happen... could it?

Ebony motioned for Paul to follow her before turning around and heading toward the woods.

"Wait...where are you going?" Paul asked, standing from his spot on the ground. The girl didn't reply, she only kept walking forward. Unsure, Paul followed after the girl.

Ebony lead Paul through the woods, never once replying to any of Paul's' questions. After walking for what seemed like hours the young girl stopped.

"Where are we?" The young man questioned, but when he turned toward where the little girl was, she was no where in sight. Looking about himself, he found that the girl had led him into a barren field of charred grass. In the near distance he spotted what looked like a run down ware house. As he walked toward the warehouse, fearful and pain filled cried could faintly be heard. His heart raced in his chest and threatened to beat right out of it as he ran toward the building.

As he neared the building, he noticed an absence of weight on his backside, and looking back for a moment found his backpack, and sword missing. In fact he was wearing different clothes all together. No longer was he wearing a crisp white shirt and black pants, but tattered rags of clothes which were heavily stained with dirt and blood. All of a sudden his body felt unbearably heavy, and pain shrouded his every thought. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself kissing the ground. He tried to lift himself but a heavy weight held him down.

Laughter echoed around him, and pleads, along with frightful cries followed shortly after.

"Make sure he's watching!" A gruff voice cut through the stale air. He felt his body being lifted, and now he was on his knees. As his senses slowly came back to him, he realized his hands were bound behind his back, and he was being held up by his hair.

"You better pay real good attention to this Paul, because this will be the last time you ever see your precious family!" A voice, laced with venom yelled, and a wave of laughter followed after.

A woman and a young girl were being held down by a group of men, and the biggest man in the room stood before them.

The little girl...

The man threw back his head and a malicious laugh ripped from his throat. He slowly unloosened his belt while approaching the screaming woman.

"I'll start with you hag, then I'll finish with you delicious little girl" The man hissed, a vicious laugh following suit. A cry of defiance erupted and seemed to shake the room. The boy's throat burned with anger as yelled, cursing the men and pleading them to stop, to trade his family placed with himself. A sharp pain in his gut stole his breath and he fell silent, gasping for air.

The woman screamed in protest as her pants were yanked down along with her panties.

The boy's world was crashing around him as he was forced to watch the man take advantage of his mother over, and over again. Soon the woman's screams faded into weak cries. The young girl kicked at her captors and thrashed about violently, trying to get away from them. The boy tried with his every strength to free his hands, the rope biting into his wrists and drawing blood.

"Slit her throat" The large, burly man ordered, and a slender man wearing a wiry smile and carrying a large knife made his way toward the woman.

"No!" The boy screamed, but he was too late. The woman's body fell limply to the floor, a red smile across her neck.

"No! Mother!" The boy yelled, collapsing to the ground in defeat. Tears racked the boy's body violently and his world soon fell into darkness.

When the boy opened his eyes next, he found himself on his hand and knees in front of the gravestone. Kneeling beside him was the girl with the long golden hair.

"Why are you doing this?" Paul chocked out between sobs.

"Why make me relive this? You don't understand how guilty I already feel!"

"I'm sorry you died and I was allowed to live. I'm sorry I couldn't stop the rape and the killing, I am! If I could go back and fix things I would, but I can't! I know you're angry that you couldn't live! Can you not see how much pain I'm already in? What more do you want from me..." The boy said, his voice dropping below a whisper at the last word.

Paul shrugged off his sister and stood up, but in doing so he knocked her over and fell to the ground. Sad watery blue eyes looked up at him from the ground. Paul noticed for the first time that night, the multiple scars that dotted her skin, the tears in her dress and the blood that coated her legs, and dress alike.

"I... I'm sorry" He whispered.

The girl only shook her head and slowly disappeared.

"Ebony... wait!" Paul shouted to the empty air.

He sighed, trying to shake off the horrible memories, but unable to keep them from his thoughts. Using the soft glow of the moon which illuminated the sky, he walked out of the graveyard, scenes the past playing in his head over, and over again.

(You didn't give me any names, so I just kinda made 'em up... sorry if I screwed this up or if it makes no sense. It's not suppose to be crystal clear, so that's why there is very little detail)

xXxX We chase misprinted lies, we face the path of time XxXx

A dark figure slowly walked into the confessional booth and sat.

"Angelus Domini." The dark figure said, straining to see the person behind the opaque curtain.

"Angelus Domini, child of God." The figure behind the curtain whispered. "Are your days comfortable?"

"They are coming to an end but they are made comfortable." The dark figure recited the sentence as he had done so, so many times in the past. This sentence was like a pass word of sorts, confirming to the man behind the curtain that he was indeed his faithful client, and not spy or fraud.

"Good...is it finished?"

"It is taken care of"

"Did anyone see you?" The figure behind the curtain asked.

"Of curse not"

"Excellent" The figure behind the curtain answered.

"What about my pay."

"As is well earned, it will be paid" The figure behind the curtain replied, slipping a hand under it. Clutched in his hand was a small bag. The dark figure took the bag and slipped it into his pocket.

"Your not going to count it?" The figure behind the curtain asked.

"I trust you" And with that the dark figure stood up, and shrugged his rucksack onto his shoulder.

"I have another target for you" The figure behind the curtain announced, catching the attention of the man inside the booth.

"I have told you I was taking a break have I not?" The young man replied, becoming slightly agitated.

"Yes you certainly have, still I thought I should ask. After all the pay is well, the target is a mutant" The man behind the curtain said.

"How does this make a difference?" The young man replied, becoming bored with this tireless game.

"I suppose it shouldn't, but with your abilities you could easily take this target out"

"Is that your way of saying only I could take him out?" The man asked.

"Her" The figure behind the curtain sighed then spoke again. "If you don't want the assignment I'll give it to someone else"

"There will be no need, If the price is right I'll gladly take this assignment"

"Your greed is just one of your many assets which makes you best for this job. Shall we discuss the payment?" The figure behind the curtain asked.

"Of course" The man said taking a seat once more.

* * *

><p>And there is the second chapter, I know it's quite a bit shorter then the last chapter, but I'm trying to move a little more slowly with this story and keep up the mystery. Don't expect me to keep updating like this though, with school and graduating soon I may be slow with the updates.<p>

Hope you all liked it!

If I screwed your character up, just let me know and I'll try to fix it, sorry if I did.


	3. Chapter 3

Surprise surprise! I actually had time to write! I wrote the rest of this today, so if there's a lot of grammar problems, it's because I haven't edited yet. Anyway, thanks for being so patient guys! I know how aggravating it can be, wanting to know what happens next in a story and having to wait for what seems like forever! Anyway, I hope this makes up for the wait.

I'm done rambling now. On with the story!

What are ya doing still reading my authors note? Get to the story! xD

xXxX I saw the devil wrapping his hands, he's getting ready for the big show down XxXx

The silhouetted figure in the doorway rushed into the windowless room. He closed the door and quickly made his way in the dark across the black vinyl floor to the brass table lamp on his left. He switched on the light, the low-wattage bulb creating shadows throughout the confined, paneled study. The room was small and confining but not without ornamentation. The objects d'art, however, were neither from antiquity nor from the progressive stages of historical artistry. Instead they represented the most contemporary equimment of high technology.

The right wall glistened with the reflection of stainless steel, and the quiet whir of a dust-inhibiting, dust-removing air-conditioning unit ensured pristine cleanliness. The owner and sole occupant of this room crossed to a chair in front of a computer-driven word processor and sat down. He turned on a switch; the screen came alive and he typed in a code. Instantly , the bright green letters responded.

**Ultra Maximun Secure**

**No Existing Intercepts**

**Proceed**

The figure hunched over the keyboard, his anxiety at fever pitch, and proceeded to enter his data.

**_I start this brief letter now, for the events that follow I believe will alter the course of a nation. A woman has come from seemingly nowhere, like an artless messiah. She came to me the other night with a note, which I dare not open until she left. How she was able to get into my office, at the time both baffled and frightened me. The mutant gene is what she called it. At first, I thought her as insane, perhaps an asylum escapee, but with the way she moved so effortlessly past the security..._**

**_I do not know what she looks like, for she looks like no one and everyone. At will, she can take the shape of anyone she pleases. She is everyone and no one. She showed me what she could do that night, after I refused to believe what she was saying. She looked into the eyes of my secretary, and... and she devoured her soul. Like a devil out of hell she devoured her soul! Then, the most astonishing thing happened, the woman's current identity melted away and her skin took on the skin of my now deceased secretary._**

**_I couldn't believe it, I didn't want to believe it! But it happened right before my eyes! _**

**_She.. it had threatened me! Telling me that if I tried to help pass any of the new laws against mutants, she would slit my throat! Then she left, dropping a note on the desk, telling me to read it very carefully and to make my choice. _**

**_I have made my choice._**

**_These things... these monsters are very real and very dangerous! And they cannot be allowed to freely roam the streets! We must take action before they... who knows what they would do, what they cou..._**

"Tsk, tsk, tsk"

The man's typing stopped abruptly and his head snapped to the left, where he spotted the ghost of his dead secretary.

"Looks like you've made the wrong choice" The woman said, pouting her ruby red lips and shaking her head.

"You know what that means" Her pout slowly grew into a sideways smile, her eyes narrowed behind dark sunglasses.

"What ever you do to me will only prove..." The man started to retort but his words were caught in his throat when he looked up, and his eyes fell upon hers. Unearthly purple eyes bore into the man's widened grey eyes, and the world seemed to stand still in this moment. Soon the man's eyes went blank, his heart ceased to beat and his head lolled back, limp.

When the deed was done the woman, now in the disguise of the vise-president's adviser stooped over the keyboard. The soft sickly green light illuminated his face as he finished the advisers last sentence.

**_..._**

**_ Mutants will rise above!_**

**_Pandora signing off._**

Pandora locked the door behind her as she left the room, still wearing the skin of the adviser.

_Goodbye adviser, next stop... vise-president._

She thought as she went through the tireless security procedures before leaving the building.

xXxX In just one life how can we, live enough to rest in peace XxXx

The boy narrowly escaped the cops as he ducked into a seemingly empty alleyway. He pressed his back against the wall, breathing deeply to catch his breath and bring his heart beat to a normal pace. Raking his fingers through his thick, unkempt, shoulder length hair, he cursed under his breath.

"Damn, that was a close one. I've got to be more careful or I may end up... on second thought, I don't want to think about that"

A smile gradually pulled at the corner of his lips as he looked over his newly stolen merchandise. With his bag now filled to the point where it couldn't even zip up, he made his way to the end of the alley way then darted into the street when he was sure no one was looking. He pried open the heavy iron plate then stole into the sewer down below.

He hit the ground with a splash, landing in a puddle of putrid smelling water. Shaking it off, he made his way straight, where he soon came upon a barred gate. He peered through the bars only to notice the gate was ajar. He pushed the heavy gate to the side, and cautiously made his way through the sewer.

_Something definitely isn't right here... they wouldn't leave the gate un-guarded like this. _

He thought as he raced forward, took a left turn then stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped , and the bag slipped from his hand.

"What the hell happened? Who would ... who would do this?" He questioned, but of course he didn't get an answer... corpses could answer him. A wave of sadness, rage and nausea over came him, his stomach turned and he dry heaved a few times before he was able to take a deep breath. Letting the breath out slowly, and steadily he walked around the corpses strewn about the sewer. Blood and internal organs painted the walls in a disgusting, stomach retching design.

"Hello? Is anyone here...alive?" He called out, but his voice cracked. His shaken and unsteady legs moved seemingly on their own and he kept moving forward.

Suddenly a fearful cry erupted from the boys right and cause him to jump.

"Where are you?" He called out, frantically searching for a survivor. Turning about himself, he spotted a hunched over figure in a shadowed corner.

"Hey, hey are you ok?" He asked. As he got closer he could make out a tangled mess of black hair which fell over pale arms that were hugging the girl's legs. The girl slowly raised her head, staring at the boy with sad, fear filled emerald-green eyes.

"Xander?" The girl choked out, then broke out into a sob when her eyes landed on the corpses all around her. The boy gasped silently when he saw who the girl was, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart at the sight of her.

'Veronica? What the hell happened? Are you ok?" Xander's questions came flying at the girl, without a pause.

"I...I don't know. It happened so fast... and I...I couldn't do anything to stop it. Oh god... " She replied, trying to compose herself.

"Who? Who did this?" Xander asked, kneeling down to the girl's level.

"I don't know how they found us, we were so careful..." Veronica tapered off, fighting back the growing lump in her throat.

"Who, Veronica who?" Xander pressed, the rage building in his chest.

_Who would do this? Why would they do this! Whoever they were, they had no right to break into this sanctuary and slaughter all of these innocent people... these sick people, and defenseless children!_

Veronica only shook her head, tears rising to her eyes once again. She sucked in a deep breath, pushed the tears back and wiped at her eyes.

"I shouldn't have left... I could have...I could have helped. I could have stopped this!" Xander hissed under his breath, self loathing clearly evident in his voice.

"This wasn't your fault Xander, if you were here they would have killed you too" Veronica replied.

"They didn't deserve to die Veronica. Somebody's going to pay for this." Xander said standing up.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I know of another underground community that'll take you in" Xander said, offering Veronica his hand, but she shook her head and stood up on her own.

"Xander, don't blame this on your self. There was nothing you could do"

"No. But there is something I can do now. I will find out who did this, and they will pay" Xander retorted, walking back toward the bag he dropped.

"Get your stuff, we're leaving" Xander commanded, his voice full of anger, and his thoughts clouded with revenge.

xXxX I saw the devil wrapping his hands, he's getting ready for the big show down XxXx

"Please" She whispered. Let there be a chance. She turned back to find his way.

And _it _was there. She slammed into it and rebounded. With an awful realization she knew that it had circled her. Not hunting...taunting her. Playing with her. The thing moved with hideous speed and she felt lines of fire along her cheek. Hot blood poured from the gashed and ran into her mouth, and down the side of her throat.

She whirled around and ran straight through the dense brush. Her legs were as heavy as iron weight but she willed her feet to move. Out of the tangle mess of withered grass a set of pale stone steps rose to the foot of a massive door. It was a mausoleum carved into the living rock or the cliff. The ponderous bronze door was bound with hick iron bands that ran from top to bottom and side to side. The panels between the intersecting bands were inscribed with complex prayers.

Hope flared like a spark in the darkness of her mind and she raced toward it. In the woods behind her she could hear the thing as it smashed through the brush in pursuit. She lifted the seemingly thousand pound weight of one foot onto the first step, but when she tried to lift the other, it was in vain and she failed. With a cry of pain and defeat she collapsed.

Even so, she did not give up. The door stood ajar. If only she could reach it... then she could haul herself inside and slam it shut, tightly behind her, and that great door would hold back hell itself.

Then she heard the click and scratch of clawed feet upon the stone steps, and she knew that she would never reach that stone door. Her numb fingers scrabbled for her knife but the thing loomed up, huge and terrible over her and the knife clattered to the cold stone, leaving it's ringing echo behind.

xXxX Are we human or are we denser? My sign is vital, my hands are cold XxXx

Blue eyes fluttered open, before they squeezed shut one again. A moment later and they reopened, looking from side to side but not really seeing anything. Everywhere around him was darkness. Then, he spotted it. A faint light in the distance. He stood up and cautiously made his way toward the light, shielding his eyes as he did. He paused for a moment when a silhouette appeared in the middle of the circle of light. He strained his eyes to see the silhouette but to no avail, the figure remained a dark, blurry shadow.

"Hello?" The boy called out, slowly closing the distance between him and the shadowed figure.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. He paused for a moment when he was close enough to the figure to see the limbs apart from the body instead of just one massive shadowy blob. As the boy came closer to the figure, the figure came closer to him.

Soon the boy and the figure were no more than a few feet apart.

"Hello?" The boy asked, waving his right hand in an attempt to gain the shadow's attention. As the boy raised his right arm, the shadow raised it's right arm, and as the boy waved, the shadow waved.

Confusion made it's self clear on the boys features. He took a step to the right, and so did the shadow. It was as if he was starring into a mirror, only he couldn't see his reflection.

"Who are you?" The boy asked once again, and the shadow shrugged it's shoulder as if saying I don't know. This time the boy followed the shadow and his shoulders went up and down in perfect unison with the shadow.

Soon everything faded to black and once again the boy was left alone, but not for long.

"Wake up" A soft voice cooed, cutting through the silence like a knife through thick fog.

"Wake up" The voice came again, this time paving a path in the darkness. The boy followed the lite up path and found himself at the foot of a door. He paused a moment before reaching for the handle. Slowly he opened the door, and emerged from the dark.

"hey" A small voice greeted the boy as he awoke. The boy turned his head toward the voice, his eyes searched the room but they found no one, then a small giggle directed his attention toward the ground. There, standing before him was a small child, with long golden hair.

"Hey" A horse reply made it's way from the lips of the boy. The child blinked and a large smile crept onto her face.

The boy on the cot groaned and tried to sit but was stopped by the small voice of the little girl.

"You're not suppose to do that"

"What?" The boy asked as a burning pain forced him to lay back down.

"Oh" The boy grunted and grit his teeth, willing the pain to stop.

"She said you'd get hurt if you did that" The little girl said, gazing up at the boy with her large greenish blue eyes.

"Oh did she?" The boy asked with a hint of sarcasm. The girl's face turned snow white as she heard footstep echo down the hall.

"I'm not supposed to be in here. Don't tell her I was here ok. Please?" The girl pleaded as she ducked under the cot.

"I wont" The boy replied.

"Promise? The little girl asked, pocking out from under the bed.

"Promise" The boy confirmed and the little girl went back in her hiding spot just before the door opened. A woman of medium height who was very well into her pregnancy entered the room carrying a trey of food.

"Your awake" The woman smiled, and placed the trey on the edge of the bed. The boy remained silent and only observed the woman, taking in her dainty, cat like features, tan skin and bright eyes.

"Yeah. So where am I?" The boy asked, his French accent a thick blanket over his monotone voice. His alert, nearly hawk like eyes followed the girl's every movement.

"Oh uhm, your in an abandoned school. It's kind of our sanctuary of sorts." The girl replied with a small smile that soon faded when the boy didn't return the smile.

"This is your definition of a sanctuary?" The boy questioned.

"Well yeah, ever since the war.." The girl trailed off.

"War?" The boy asked, giving the girl a quizzical look.

"You don't know about the war? Where do you come from? Better yet, who are you?" The girl asked, now it was her turn to give him a quizzical look.

"I..." The boy began to say before a sharp pain in his temples caused him to stop. He gripped his head as the pain became worse and a series of images flooded his mind.

_"Who do you think you are?" An angry voice yelled at a young blond haired boy._

_"You can't expect to get away with this so easily do you?" The voice came again, before a large silhouette closed in on the boy._

The image was gone just as fast as it came before it was replaced by another.

_"You come from a special selection of people. They have also come from a special selection of people. And therefor you were bred for this! You have all of the qualities in order to make you the best we've ever had!" A husky male voice spoke and a chorus of "yes sirs" exploded from the group of small children standing at his__attention._

Once again the image was gone as quick as it came. The boy tried to make sense of the images but to no avail.

"You ok?" The woman asked, her voice filled with concern. The boy shook the images away and brought his attention back to the woman.

"Fine" The boy replied, trying to put his mind at ease, but it was still trying to wrap itself around those images. What did they mean?

_Bred? Bred for what?_

_Who do I think I am?_ _I haven't the slightest idea..._

"You didn't look fine just then" The girl retorted.

"I said I'm fine, alright? Drop it" The boy snapped, his accent gaining thickness, so much that it blended his words together making it hard to understand.

"Sorry" The boy apologized after seeing the hurt expression on the woman's face.

"So who are you? How many did you mean when you said us?" He questioned.

"I'm not telling you who I am until I know who you are. And you'll get to meet the others soon" The unknown woman replied, handing the boy a small old brown knapsack.

"Here, this is yours. Your things are inside, it's everything we found with you. I've washed the clothes" The girl paused for a moment as she watched the boy open the sack and check it's contents. Inside the bag was a pair of clothes, a small dagger and blank dog tags.

"We're going to be moving soon. While Andre was out on patrol he noticed that a group of mutant haters is getting close, and we don't want to take any chances, especially with the little ones. Eat, your gonna need the energy. I'll have Andre help you dress after, so we can get moving"

"I don't need help dressing" The boy scowled, turning the dagger around in this hands.

"Can you stand?" The woman asked, raising an eyebrow. After observing the boy's expression she spoke again "That's what I thought"

"I'll leave you alone now" She said, heading toward the door but stopped when the boy spoke"

"Wait! My name is... Axel" The boy said, finishing in a whisper and tracing the name that was etched into the dagger.

The girl's lips curled into a small smile.

"Natalie" She spoke her own name.

"Come on Alise let's leave Axel alone" Natalie said, dragging the little girl out from under the cot.

"How did you know I was..." The little girls voice trailed off as the two left the room.

_Why did you lie like that? They're trying to help you and you lie to them? Give them a false name so they wont suspect you don't even know it. Brilliant plan. _The voice inside the boy now known as Axel's head spoke.

_I'm not sure if I can trust these people. Better to stay on the safe side and play Mr. Mysterious instead of Mr. Amnesiac. Don't want them taking advantage of me because I can't even remember my own name..._

Axel. The name sounded so familiar to him, but it left a bad taste on his tongue.

* * *

><p>Ok, here is the next chapter. Hope you all like it!<p>

I'll be updating the cast list soon. I do still need a few more ocs. Just as a warning, it is going to take me a while to get every oc introduced, some may not appear until later on in the story, so don't worry if your oc was accepted but doesn't appear in the first few chapters. I still have a lot of characters to introduce. Right now I'm working on getting the story set up, and character intros so it will be kinda slow for a while. but trust me what's to come later on in the story will make up for it :)

Remember to leave a review and let me know how I'm doing. Also reviews are a big motivation for me :)


	4. Chapter 4

xXxX Forever in debt to your priceless advise XxXx

The creature threw back it's head and the massive muscles of it's chest and sides flexed as it let loose with a howl so loud it threatened the girl's sanity. The sound was over bearing, exploding in her head and though she was aware of other sounds around her, the howl muted them all to meaningless noise. Then everything seemed to move in slow motion as an angry yell boomed over the howl and put a stop to it.

"Quit playing with her you useless mutt!" The voice yelled, and the animal turned around. There standing before the large beast was the figure of a small woman dressed in dark clothing. The girl starred with wide blue eyes at her savior, no not savior... that didn't sound right.

"What the hell did you do Matt? God damn it I told you to leave her unscathed!" The woman bellowed, anger clearly evident in her voice. The beast growled in reply, then the most astonishing happened, the beast shifted into a boy. In all his glory he stood stark naked, eyes never leaving the woman in dark drab before him. The boy stood at least a foot taller then the woman, and looked to be no older then sixteen or seventeen.

"Get dressed, no one wants to see your little wolfie parts" The woman commanded, and tossed the boy a bundle of clothes with a smirk on her face. The boy did as he was told, all the while grumbling something about the fact that they aren't small.

The girl still on the ground, had to stifle her laughter despite the terrifying experience she just had.

"Chelsea is it?" The woman offered her had to the girl on the ground.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, refusing the hand and standing on her own. As the woman came closer, the girl realized that this was no woman at all, in fact, she looked to be only a few years younger then herself.

"You can call me, Pandora" The woman smiled wickedly.

"Pandora huh? What kind of fucked up parents would give a child a name like that?" The girl, now known as Chelsea asked, looking the girl up and down. There wasn't much that she could see of the girl but very pale skin, thin purple lips and a head devoid of any hair beside a slim blonde and black strand that stuck to her forehead in a curly cue.

"Your one to talk, seeing as both of your parents are deceased" Pandora retorted, glaring at the girl from behind her dark sunglasses.

_Did I ever have parents?_

Pandora shook the thought from her head, allowing the thoughts of all the people she has "absorbed" to override what little thoughts she herself held anymore.

"How do you..."

"I do my research" Pandora cut the girl off, surprising her with her answer. Chelsea's eyes narrowed as she glared at the mysterious girl before her.

"What's this all about? Why patronize me like this?" Chelsea spoke up.

"Patronize you? My dear girl, you've got it all wrong. I made the wrong decision when I sent this buffoon to get you, I should have just gone myself, it would have been cleaner. I apologize for his inconvenience. You see, I have a proposition for you" Pandora finished.

"Hey!" A cry of defiance from Matt followed shortly after.

"Shoot" Chelsea replied, although peeved from the resent events, she was now interested in this offer.

"I'd like you to be my Delta" Pandora replied.

"Excuse me?"

"Alpha, Bravo, Charlie... Delta. Surely you know your military abcs?" Pandora paused for a minute, Chelsea merely shook her head. "No? You see, I have created a resistance group against the government, code name Medusa. I am code name Alpha, and Matt here is Bravo, Charlie is at base on watch, I need a Delta, what do you say? Want to join an elite group of fighters and help take down the government or would you rather be hunted for the rest of your life?" Pandora finished.

"I..." Chelsea began.

"Tell ya what. You come back to base with me, I'll give you shelter for the night, even food and you can think it over" Pandora suggested.

"Fine, fine I'll go with you but that doesn't guarantee I'll join, got it?" Chelsea replied.

"Good. Bravo head back to base, we'll be there shortly, I want to explain Medusa better to Chelsea" Pandora said, Matt complied and dashed off in the opposite direction.

_She will join us, she has no other choice. I have my Delta... Echo will be joining us next... Foxtrot soon to follow, then Medusa will be complete and the real destruction can begin..._

(yes, I did get the idea of Medusa and the code names from Bourne series as well as some other aspects in the story)

xXxX Under everything, just another human being uh huh XxXx

"So Natalie tells me, your healing very quickly...almost too quickly" Andre, Natalie's boyfriends and the father to her unborn child said as he helped the injured teen slip on a pair of dark jeans.

"What do you mean too quickly?" Axel asked, eyes focused on the tall man before him, never wavering.

"It's almost like you... like your a mutant. Are you?" Andre asked, handing Axel a red shirt.

"A mutant? I..." Axel began to say as he struggled to get the shirt on.

"It's ok, if you are one, you're safe here. We won't hurt you, in fact almost everyone here is a mutant" Andre replied, helping Axel with the shirt after watching him fail to get it over his head.

"Are you one?" Axel asked, leaning up against the bed, and gritting his teeth when a wave of pain washed over him.

"What a mutant? nope, not me, but they accept me just the same. I mean, some are still wary but there coming around" Andre smiled curtly, then his smile dropped when he saw the grimace on Axel's face.

"You should probably sit down, exerting yourself too much can't be good. I'm no doctor man, but Natalie, she knows what she's doing. You know, before the war broke out, she was going to go to school to become a nurse" Andre said, gathering the clothes Axel was previously reluctantly, Axel sat down.

"Look I've got to go and help get things ready to move. You should get some rest, and if... if you're feeling up to, come down the hall and meet the rest of the group. I'm sure their anxious to meet you" And with that Andre walked out of the room, closing the door tightly behind him.

Axel sighed when the man left, and brought his bag to his lap.

Fingers traced around the edges of a small rectangular item, then stopped when they hit the body of the rectangle.

"Blank" Axel's whispered.

"Why would they be blank? Are they even mine?" Axel asked himself as he studied the dog tags that have been given to him, or well given back to him. He sighed heavily and placed the few items he dug out, back in the bag.

"Axel" The boy without a memory whispered to himself, trying to make sense of the name.

"Axel, who are you really?" he asked himself. These words must have triggered something because as soon as they escaped his lips an overwhelming pain erupted in his chest, spread rapidly throughout his body and grabbed a firm hold of his right hand. He arched his back and yelled in agony as the pain increased. His vision left him and his hearing moved in and out before everything became silent.

A boy stood in the middle a room, his eyes bewildered, crazed almost. His lips were pursed in frustration, anger even.

ragged breathing was all that could be heard through out the room.

He looked to his right and standing before him was an older man with hair as white as snow, a crooked nose and large bags under his eyes. He parted his lips, about to speak, but he never got the chance.

"What were you thinking!" The boy yelled his voice laced with an anger so great it was hardly containable.

"I was thinking that I wanted you to live. Do you understand what you did? What the consequences were? For fucks sake child! You killed his son! The head master's son, and he would have killed you for it!" The old man yelled back.

"It was an accident and you know that" The boy paused, staring up at the man with a face aged beyond his years. All his child like innocence was lost in those hardened eyes of his.

"You've committed treason! And you'll die for it! Tell me, how is that any better?" The boy spat out. The elderly man took a few calm steps toward the boy and placed a shaking hand on his shoulder.

"You have a life ahead of you child, you have a chance. I lost my life long ago, I no longer have a chance. It's better if I keep your chance alive." The elderly man replied. The boy angrily shook the old man's his hand off his shoulder.

"I've been beaten since as long as I can remember, tortured to the point of loosing my voice from screaming. I could have handled it! You bastard! Now they'll kill you!" The boy yelled, his angry voice shadowed with pain.

"You don't understand what your doing to me!" The boy cried, glaring at the elderly man with fierce blue eyes.

"You're... you're the only one who didn't treat me like the animal I am, your the only one that cared. This gave me hope! Hope that I might survive! You're going to take that away from me? " The boy ended his rant in a whisper.

"You're not an animal! Don't you ever say that! I believe in you and that will never die, even if I have to." The old man said, with a reassuring smile which faltered when the door was jerked open. Two large men trotted in and went for the boy. The boy raised his hands which were crackling with electricity and warned the guards to stay back, they only laughed and lunged at the boy, grabbed his wrists, pulled his arms behind him and held him there. They had learn along time ago not to confront the boy without specially made electricity proof suits.

Not a moment later and another man walked into the room, a man who's face had been burned beyond repair. Only a small tuft of hair clung to the man's scalp, making his presence all the more eerie.

"You've committed treason Axel, and now you'll pay with your life. And you, boy! You'll deliver his death!" The man yelled, and the boy was shoved forward.

"Here." The man said simply, handing the boy a gun.

"No!" The boy shoved the gun out of his face, refusing to take it.

"Take it! Now!" The man yelled and forced the gun into the boy's hand. The boy's hand fell limp to his side and tears welled in his eyes as he stared at the elderly man.

"Anyone you so much as get close to will only get killed in the end. This is a lesson that will be well learned you understand me?" The man asked sternly, raising the boy's arm to where the gun was pointed at the man's head.

"Take him now!" The man demanded. The boy looked back at the man behind him and lowered the gun

"I...I can't!" The boy cried, his vision beginning to blur.

"Do it now!" The man yelled.

The boy lifted the gun once again, knowing that if he didn't take the elderly man's life, they would torture him to death, and he wouldn't have that.

"I'm sorry." The boy apologized, wiping away his tears with his left hand and gripping the gun with his right.

"It's alright child, I don't blame you. It was my mistake, and now your only taking orders, doing what you were brought up to do. " The elderly man replied.

"Goodbye Axel." The boy whispered a barely audible farewell, and thumbed the hammer, but paused before pulling the trigger.

"Go ahead child. Do it. I forgive you." The elderly man said staring at the boy with sad, tired eyes.

Silence.

"Do it!" The elderly man yelled, before the deafening shot of the gun echoed throughout the room, and the man fell limp.

As the images faded into nothing, the boy found himself yelling at the top of his lungs and gripping the sides of the bed. He was surrounded by people, but he couldn't tell who, his vision was so blurred. Voices found their way to him but he couldn't hear them over the blood curdling scream which he realized was his own. A powerful heat emanated throughout his body and a soft crackling sound surrounded him.

The scream stopped suddenly and his vision was slowly coming clear once again. The heat left slowly and the crackling disappeared. Andre, Natalie, and the little girl from before who's name he could not remember stood around him, along with a few new and unknown faces. They stared at him with shocked expressions, but stood a few feet back from him as if he was some sort of...animal...

"No no no no no!" He repeated over and over, unable to believe what he just saw.

"Axel, are you ok?" A feminine voice asked. Axel looked around and his eyes landed on Natalie.

"Just a... nightmare. I'm fine" The French boy replied, scanning the people around him with wary eyes.

"Here, this is my teddy. He helps me when I have bad dreams, he can help you too" A young boy with tan skin and dark hair said, walking up to Axel and handing him a beaten up old brown stuffed bear. Axel hesitated, but after a moment the kid's eager eyes persuaded him, and he awkwardly took the teddy from the boy. Axel held the bear by it's leg, unsure of what to do with it.

"No, like this" The said, fixing the teddy so that Axel had it up hugged against his chest.

"His name is Dr, Bear, and he'll make everything ok" The child said smiling.

"Uhh... thanks" Axel said hesitantly. After the rest of the group left, Natalie stayed behind to make sure Axel was ok, then left him in peace.

xXxX I must confess that I feel like a monster XxXx

The choppy cross-cutting tape continued as the bounty hunter grew weary of the seemingly endless and pointless visual recording. Then, suddenly there was an exterior shot of a huge cathedral, crowds thinning on the pavement surrounding it, the light indicating late evening. The screen became murky, the vibrating focus briefly and wildly swaying; the camera had moved into the cathedral as the agent operating it was jostled by an exiting crowd. The, it became steady, the focus now on an elderly man who's hair was snow white in contrast to the black raincoat he wore. He was walking down a side aisle, pensively glancing at the succession of icons and the higher majectic glass windows.

"A target or..." A musing, whispered voice trailed off.

The man on the screen proceeded into what appeared to be a large stone corner of the cathedral where too thick pedistaled candles threw moving shadows against the walls. The video camera jerkily moved about for a moment before becoming steady once again. The picture grew sudden;y more detailed, the figured larger as the zoom lens was activated, thrusting through the dissipating crowds of tourists. The white haired subject approached a what looked to be a woman completely shrouded in shadows.

The two began to talk, their laughing and subtle hand gestures masking their whispered and secretive conversation. Soon the conversation escalated, their gestures becoming more frantic, the man waved his arms wildly in the air. Then, the man grew still, his body collapsing to the ground, but before it even landed it fell away in tiny particles of dust. For a fraction of a second the woman's face could be seen, then the video fizzed out.

"Go back to the last few seconds" A deep voice commanded, and the video was rewound then paused. A beautiful heart shaped face accompanied by small, delicate nose, sun-glassed eyes and thin lips could be seen barely protruding out of the shadows.

"I've seen all I need to" A tall seemingly lanky man in black drab stood up and pocketed the switchblade he had been fiddling with during the tireless video. Although the video gave him a little more info on this mysterious shape-shifting, soul-less killing machine that seemed to appear out of no where.

sientence porfavor, there is much you still need to know about this... woman" A middle aged man with hair as black as night, despite a small sliver of grey said, turning the projector off and gesturing toward the chair. The man in black complied, agitated.

"We have word from a... anonymous source that the chameleon has invaded the white house. Since she cant take the shape of anyone she please, we don't know how to find her and what influence she has in the white house. If we don't stop her now..."

"She'll fake the president, corrupt the states and progress the war further..." The bounty hunter replied, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Ci Amigo, and that would be disaterous. She must be stopped"

"Oh, it would be disastrous indeed..." The bounty hunter said almost dreamily.

"So you'll do it then?" The Hispanic man asked the man he had been working for, for years.

"Consider it done" The bounty hunter said,eyes gleaming with determination.

"Now where's my money. You know how the system works Felipe. I don't get the first half of my pay, you don't get your corpse" The bounty hunter demanded, standing up once again.

"Now, Felipe" He demanded, eyes burning with impatience and desire for the kill, and the money, but mostly the kill.

"I trust you amigo, but I will have my men watching your every move. This is one of the most dangerous assaignments I've given you, and I don't want you bailing on me got it?"

"I'm hurt" The bounty hunter puted his lips, but soon they stretched into a sly grin, and both men laughed half heartily.

"Understandable, now, the money. Please Felipe, I want to get started as soon as possible"

"Alright, alright" The aging Mexican handing a wade of greens to the impatient bounty hunter.

"Be careful Blade. We go back, way back, and I don't want to loose a comrade" Felipe said, releasing his hold on the money.

"I'll be fine, you worry to much old friend" The bounty hunter, also known as Blade, left the room with a new burning desire in his eyes.

xXxX She's the girl all the bad guys want! XxXx

"Hey toots, how's about you, and me see how hot we can make this fire burn eh?" A blonde haired teen said, and the fire dancing just bellow the ceiling shifted positions. Laughter rang through out the room as the fire changed effortlessly into the shape of two people in a doggie position.

"Not even you could take this heat Pyro." Another teen with long raven black hair with purple highlights, wearing a mini shirt, a skin tight, low cut tank top, black fishnet leggings and high heeled boots waltzed across the room, her hips swaying perfectly to the rhythm of her steps. The fire then changed into the shape of a broken heart. A chorus of "ooohhs" swept around the room.

"ya want some ice with that burn there Pyro?" Another male teen with long dark brown hair laughed.

"Shut the hell up Gambit! I bet you couldn't even sway this broad." Pyro roared in anger.

"Wanna make it a bet hot head?" Gambit shot back.

Both guys stopped arguing when they heard the door slam.

"Hey hey hey where's she going?" Pyro asked as both the guys ran for the door. Gambit got to the door first and yanked it open.

"Hey! Mila! The hell you going?" Pyro shouted once the door was open.

"Man! Quit shouting in my ear! I use that ya know! Besides that's no way to talk to a lady." Gambit said.

"Hey Mila, mind telling us where your going? We are a team after all!" Gambit shouted to the girl who had stopped in the middle of the driveway.

"Not anymore boys. I'm leaving." Mila replied, shifting her weight impatiently.

"And when did you decide this? You just joined us; you can't just leave like this Mila!" Pyro yelled stepping out the door.

"Yeah well, this is me, leaving." Mila scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder and began to walk away. Pyro tried to fallow after her but was stopped by Gambit.

"Let her go man. Soon, she'll come to realize she can't stand to live without the LeBeau charm." Gambit said, forcing pyro back inside.

"Fuck you man!" Pyro said shoving Gambit into the wall.

Gambit cleared his throat, and nonchalantly brushed Pyro off.

"I was only joking man chill out. She wasn't right for the team anyway. She was only in it for the money, besides you didn't have the slightest chance with her." Gambit said, walking back to the couch.

"She's only gone because you let her go!" Pyro yelled, getting in a battle stance.

"Alright if you want to play that way, but I warn you this time I'm not going easy on you." Gambit said, grabbing his bo stick, and flipping over the couch.

* * *

><p>And here is the next chapter! Hope you like the story so far!<p>

I apologize if I haven't gotten your character in yet, there are a lot of characters I'm working with here so you'll just have to be patient, when the time is right, they will show up. Some may end up being introduced later on in the story, for an example, I don't plan on introducing the Bandits until at least another chapter or so, when I get more of the recently introduced characters more time to develop then I'll move on to introducing more.

I planned to have the next chapter up today as well but I'm having a problem fixing something, so it may be a while. I do have part of it written though :)

Anyway, please read and review!

I feel like I'm repeating myself in every authors note...

Oh! One more thing! I need a few more students or I can't really move on with the story, the students will be introduce in the next chapter, most likely anyway so please submit some students! I'm only taking about 3 or 4 more so be creative!


	5. Chapter 5

xXxX In your head, in your head they are fighting. With their tanks and their bombs and their bombs XxXx

A slender man who looked to be in his forties stood at the door. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but a voice in his head stopped him.

_There is not need to knock. Come on in old friend_

The man did so, and hesitantly opened the door, to find his old companion sitting in a wheelchair in the vast living room.

"Charles" The middle ages man said, smiling and confronting his friend.

"Noctis" The man in the wheel chair said, with a sad smile.

"It's been too long old friend" Noctis said.

"I agree. So, what brings you here to Bayville?" Xavier asked, gesturing for Noctis to have a seat on a nearby couch.

"You don't need to ask me that Charles. I know you're already searching my mind for the answer" Noctis replied, with a light-hearted laugh.

"Look, Noctis, I'll help you to the best of my abilities but I'm afraid I have no room left for..."

"Oh, it's no problem, I have an apartment a few blocks away actually" Noctis cut Charles's off, then paused before speaking again.

"I ran into a dumb as... sss...omeone today" Noctis started, nearly forgetting to clean up his language for the sake of his old friend.

"You don't happen to have a teen student with a drinking problem do you?" He asked, his sentences not wuite flowing together.

"I'm not following you Noctis, and your thoughts aren't giving me much to go off of either, you're going to have to explain better"

"A drunk teenager walked into a busy street, luckily I happened to be on my way here and saved his dumb...butt? uhh...anyway, then he went on yelling at me, and when I went to physically drag to safety, he...well, I don't really know what he did. One minute I've got two fingers digging into the stupid fucks arm, and the next I'm on the ground looking up at the sky"

"So what you're saying is that you ran into a mutant. That ... _is_ very strange" Charlse replied, puttig emphasis on the is.

"I should have sensed him if he used his powers. I'll have to look into this" Charles mused.

"You mean he's not one of yours?"

"If he was, I would have sensed him..." Charles replied, shaking his head slowly.

"I'll help in anyway I can, after all I do owe you one" Noctis offered.

"Don't feel the need to repay me back. Now, come on, I'll have someone fix something to eat, and you can tell me all about this problem you're having..." Xavier's words faded out as the two entered the kitchen to relive old times, and fill one another on new ones.

xXxX Aint no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees XxXx

Slow singled out clapping stopped the girl in her tracks. She pivoted in her spot and came face to face with a tall, dark haired teenage boy in a deep purple trench coat.

"Gotta hand it to ya, that was pretty creative... and impressive of course" The boy said in a thick Cajun accent.

"Wait, you saw that and you're... not scared?" The burgundy haired girl replied, eyes the boy suspiciously.

"No. You see, ma chere, we have a little somethin' in common" The Cajun boy said, holding up a playing card which was now glowing an eerie purple.

"You gotta point? Mutants aren't exactly a rarity ya know" The girl replied.

"My point is that we mutants gotta stick together, it's a dangerous world out there"

"As you can see, I can handle myself just fine. I'm not some pitiful damsel in distress" She paused a moment before continuing. "Now, I believe you're in my way" She spat, trying to shove her way past the tall boy, but instead he grabbed her arms, forcing her to look at him.

"Naw, naw naw, you got me all wrong chere. I know you can handle yourself, in fact that's the reason I'm here"

"Oh is it? Mind bein just a little more vague Mr. Ego?" The Cajun staggered back, gripping his heart like the girl had just plunged a knife into his chest.

"Ouch" He commented.

"Now hold up, just hear me out will ya?"

"I'm waiting" The girl replied, irritably tapping her foot.

"Well, you see my boss" He paused, searching for the right words.

"Your boss...?" The girl trailed off, becoming even more impatient.

"Wants to recruit you" He finished, growing more unsure with himself, under her glare.

"Well, thanks for the clarity Mr. Ego! You're so helpful! ... now, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way" She said, shoving past the boy and starting down the road.

"I haven't got to the point yet" The boy nearly shouted, following after the girl.

"Then hurry up and get to it, your wasting my time" The girl paused, turning toward the boy once more.

"Wasting your time huh? What your got another overweight rapist to murder?" The dark haired boy joked, with a grin playing at his lips.

"Maybe I do, and maybe it's an over egotistical prick that's next on my list" The girl countered with just as devious of a grin. The girl shifted her weight with impatience and the boy's grin fell.

"This is going to be a lot harder than I thought" The boy said under his breath then sighed sadly.

"Look chere' I don't want any trouble I.."

"Just want to recruit me" The girl cut him off and finished his sentese for him.

"Now, you look. I'm not interested" She continued, pronouncing every word clearly. Before the boy had any time to retaliate she continued.

"I work alone" She concluded, starting down the street once more.

"Fine fine, but the boss aint gonna like this" The boy said, giving up and although reluctant he didn't follow after her.

"Yeah? Well this boss of yours can shove it!" The girl shouted over her shoulder.

"The name's Gambit, if ya decide to change your mind" Gambit shouted after her.

"Not likey" She countered with a light, mischevious laugh.

"We will meet again ma chere'" He called after her in a sing songy voice.

xXxX The stars will cry the blackest tears tonight XxXx

The hand-held candles flickeed in the night drizzle as the two parallel lines of mourners walked solemnly behind the white casket bron on the shoulders of six men; severa; began to slip on the increasingly wet gravel of the cementery's path. Flanking the procession were four drummers, two on each side, their snare drums snapping out the slow cadence of the death march, erratically out of sequence because of the unexpected rocks and unseen flat grave markers in the darkness of the bordering grass. A young boy about the age ten stood amongst a smal crowd of uniformed men. His eyes were red rimmed, his cheeks tear stained, and his hair a wet tangled mess.

"He was a good man" A deep voice startled the boy, causing him to jump slightly. After reasuing himself that it was just the man standing at his side, he became stock still once again and fell back into his numb state. He remained in that same position, dead eyes fixed on eternal nothingness. The boy's lips parted as if he were about to speak but the motion stopped there.

The sound of gun fire exploded in the boy's ear drums, silence followed shortly after, then the loud cracks of the guns started up once more. There was a short speach which the boy, as hard as he tried he could not pay attention to the words being said. His mind was too hung up on the fact that... that he was gone, and that he'd never be able to see him again. No later, a flurry of movement surrounded the boy. His grip on the rose he held tightened when he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. Slowly, the boy was guided toward the new headstone where he dropped the rose.

"Here" The same husky voice from before came again, and he felt that all to familiar pressure on his hand.

"Don't" The boy hissed under his breath and pulled his hand away from the man's. The boy's knees fell into the dirt as he nearly collapsed to the ground before the headstone.

"I don't... I don't need your help" He said in an almost whisper, then delicatly placed his hand upon the headstone. The cold of the stone bit at his hand as his fingers felt over the large engraved words. Underneath this set of words their lied another set of scriptur. The boy's breath caught in his throat as his fingers found the words only meant for those who could not see.

**Mirko De Luca**

**1985-2012**

_**beloved brother, and dedicated soldier**_

_**"He gave his all for his family and his life for his country"**_

The lump in his throar grew in sixe as he fought back the tears that threatened to pour.

**_ Riposa in pace fratello, lei non sarà dimenticato _**

**_(rest in peace older brother, you will not be forgotten)_**

His hand fell numby from the stone after lingering on the last word for a moment.

The boy, now seventeen sat up from his sleep, eyes wide beneath dark sunglassed. Slowly, he sat himself up against the wall behin himself and with a sigh he let his head flop to the wall.

"Forgive me Mirko" He said, squeesing his eyes shut tight, as if this small movement would make everything ok. No, he knew it wouldn't, nothing would make it ok.

"I know you wouldn't want this life for me. I've tried to look on the brightside of things, so to speak... but everytime I do things just seam to get worse. I can't handle this guilt anymore... it's eating me alive. What do I do, Mirko? I am so lost without you..." The boys sad Italian accent hung in the night's stale air.

xXxX And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass of what was everything? All the pictures have been waches in black, tattooed everything... XxXx

She leaned back against the wooden chair of which she was seated and cleared her throat.

"I understand" She replied to the man lounging in the chair directly infront of her. Only a small round coffee table kept their legs from touching. She glanced up at the man and flinched when he leant forward, eyebrows knitted together and his trademark sideways smile crept onto his face. People say he wore his entire past on his face and taking in account the multiple scars it possessed the girl guessed the rumors were right, or at least close. Noone knew much about Paolo, not even his most loyal ... employer... even she knows nearly nothing about the guy, besides his name and the fact that he signs her paycheck.

"Oh no , I don't think you do understand" Paolo replied, his grin fell and his face became hard once again.

"Then please, enlighten me sir" The loyal "employer" in question replied.

"You see, the next prisoner that's being brought in is highly dangerous. I need your squad on high alert at all times, we cannot let this one get out. You see there is a high bounty on his head and we need him alive for it. He will be put in our most maximum secure cells then be tranferred by air within the next week, when the new jail built to hold mutants is finished. For now, you and your squad are incharge of making sure he doesn't get out. We've been tracking this fucker for weeks, and we've finally managed to catch the dragon-freak and free his human hostage" The large Italian man said, then sat back in his chair.

"My men and I will keep this brute in line sir" The dark-haired woman replied.

"Yes. Yes you will, or I'll have your head! Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear sir" The woman replied with a nod then left the room.

* * *

><p>Sorry this is kinda short and it took so long to get up... you can blame writers block for that. Well, here it is, the next chapter. I'm not really sure what I'm doing with that last bit but... well we'll see how it plays out in the long run. Now I need at least one other prisoner for the next chapters to come. These prisoners will eventually be put into another group so if ya submit one make sure to put their prefered group on the forum.<p>

Thanks for reading and sorry for the very late update guys! Please review, and let me know how I'm doing :)


	6. Chapter 6

xXxX There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive XxXx

Fingernails dug into the scalp of a messy blonde head which was burried into both hands of it's owner. A deep throaty growl escaped the boy's lips as a fist slammed down onto the battered old metalic sink. The boy looked up at the mirror and stared helplessly into the eyes of his mirror counterpart.

"Who are you?" The boy asked under his breath, knowing it was pointless.

_Monster... monster... monster!_

The boy squeezed his eyes shut and with one shaking hand pinched the bridge of his nose.

_Killer! Murderer! ... Monster!_

The blonde haired amnesiac raised his head and looked into the face of his reflection. He leaned in closer to the reflection when he thought he saw something. When he came closer to the mirror, the eyes before him slowly became a deep crimson red, and the lips curled into wicked smile. The boy flinched and took a step back from the sink. A low, slow taunting laughter ripped through the air. The boy's heart began to race and a wave of nausea washed over him as the image of the old man flashed before his eyes.

"Monster!" His reflection bellowed, smiling cruely at the boy. The boy's mirror counterpart continually repeated the word and each time it said it, it's voice grew stronger, and with each word the reflection grew in size until it was about to burst out of the glass.

"Enough!" The boy yelled, backing up into the wall behind him, but the taunting wouldn't stop. A sharp pain peirced the boy's head and he collaped to the ground.

"Stop!" He shouted, gripping his head and shutting his eyes against the seeminglty endless laughter. The image of the old man once again flooded his mind.

_Monster! Your a monster, a murderer!_

"I'm sorry Axel" The boy whispered, his heart clentched and a deep gut feeling came over him. He opened his eyes and stared down at his hands, but something wasn't right... suddenly a pool of dark blood sat in his hands and seeped through his fingers.

"No. no, no no!" He said over and over and he frantically tried to wipe his hands clean of the blood, but nothing he did helped. He stood up in a panic, rushed to the sink and with shaking hands he turned on the fauset but what poured out wasnt water. He was surrounded by red and nothing but red. A loud rappid nocking could be heared from the other side of the door.

"Hey, you ok in there? I thought I heared someone yell" A soothing feminine voice called through the door. Her voice broke through the red and suddenly the boy's world went back to normal... if you could call it normal.

"I'm fine" He replied, but she opened the door anyway.

"Are you sure? I thought you might have fallen, you scared the life out of me Axel" The sound of that name, and the sickening ring it left behind caused the boy to flinch.

"I'm sorry for scaring you" Axel said, then pushed past the other teen. Somehow he had managed to remain calm, even as those images plagued his mind.

"Are you sure you're really ok?" The pregnant teen asked, concern was written all over her face.

"I'm fine. I'm well enough to make it to the bathroom and back on my own" He replied in a monotone voice and his face became it's hardened, emotionless mask once again.

Natalie nodded her head with a small smile, then began to head back to the other room, but Axel's hand shot out and caught her arm. He held her there for a moment, with his hand gently wound around her wrist, and stared into her eyes.

"Thank you" He said in almost a whisper, then let her go.

"You don't have to thank me, we were all just doing the right thing" She replied with a curt smile. He nodded, then headed back to his room.

"Axel?" Her voice stopped him in his tracks.

"When your ready, come down to the main room so you can meet the rest of the group, really meet them that is. I'm sure they're curious about you, after all you have been here for a month, and they have yet to meet you"

"A... month? I've been asleep for... for a month?" Axel asked, taken aback.

"You were in a coma Axel. I'm sorry I.." She started to say but the amnesiac cut her off.

"I was alseep for a month and you... you didn't tell me?" He asked, an uncontrolable anger building up in his chest.

"Axel I..."

"How could you not tell me!" He yelled, electicity started to build up around his hands.

"Axel please calm down, I didn't think it was a good time to tell you, not right after you woke up. I'm sorry" Natalie said, taking a step back from Axel.

_Monster!_ The voice in Axel's head screamed. Axel's eyes grew wide when he realized how much he's frightened Natalie. The electricy died down and the anger melted away with it.

"I'm so sorry" Axel apologized.

_I don't understand... this anger... where did it come from? and that heat, I've felt that before... what is it?_

"I... I don't know what came over me" He said, backing away from Natalie and heading back to the infirmary.

"Axel?" Natalie called after him, but he kept walking.

_Something must really be eating at him_

Once back in the infirmary Axel locked the door behind himself.

_monster! monster! monster!_

Moving quickly, Axel gathered everything they had found on his person, shoved them into the black duffle bag then headed back out the door. Once he was sure noone else was in the hallway and the Natalie had gone back into the other room he walked down the hall with rapid steps.

_They don't deserve this. They've done so much for me and all I've done was put them in danger. I can't stay here anymore. I am a monster._

Looking back once more, Axel opened the double doors and left the old run down school building.

xXxX A past is only the future with the lights on XxXx

Pain, pain was all he could feel. It was overwhelming, and it surrounded him in a swirling black mass. His eyes were blinded by the excrutiating feeling, and his body was numb. He tried to yell out, to speak and to even move, but he could do none. A panic like none he has ever felt ran up his spin and chilled his bones. He was dying, he could feel the life being drained from him, being pulled from him from all directions, pulled into the ever ending black swirling mass. The pain eurupted in his chest and ran through his body like lightning, then everything went black.

A young boy about the age of eight stood in a line, amongst a mass of people who also wore the same rope around their wrists and ankles as he did.

"Mommy I'm scared" The boy said, turning his head and facing the tall slender dark skined woman behind him. Tears welled up in the woman's eyes as she loked helplessly down at her son.

"Everything will be ok Tarquinn, mommy's here" She said, chocking back the tears. All of a sudden the line jolted forward and the boy was pulled to the ground.

"What is this? Why has the line stopped?" A deep voice shouted and not long after a man appeared before the woman and her child.

"Get up" The man demanded, his anger rising by the second.

"I said get up!" The man yelled and the boy stood up after struggling with the rope for a moment.

"You wanna die kid? Better stop holding up the line of the boss is gonna kill ya for sure!" The man dressed in dark drab said, glaring down at the boy.

"Don't you talk to my son like that!" The woman behind the boy shouted, stepping toward the guard.

"That's assult against a guard" The man accused.

"What? I haven't even touched you!" The woman protested. The guard shoved the woman back, nearly causing her to fall.

"Well just see what the boss has to say about this" The guard taunted, then turned around sharply when he heared the unmistakable voice of his "boss".

"What is going on here? Why has the line stopeed?" An angry voice could be heared over all others.

"It's these two sir, they were holding up the line" The guard said.

"And I'm sure you had nothing to do with it" The tall blonde haired man accused.

"Sir?" The guard asked.

"Worthless! Your all worthless scum!" The man yelled, lethal electricity cackled around his hands. The man then grabbed the guard by the neck and fried him to a groteque crispy black.

"You, boy!" The man said, pointing at the young boy.

"You're not human are you? I can sense it, your a mutant" He said, eyeing the boy. The young boy looked up at the man, taking in his harded stare, discolored blue eye and the scar that acompanied it. The man untied the rope around the boys wrists and ankles.

"Kill the rest of them" He orded and a panic came over the mass of people.

"Disgusting humans. You all will pay!" The blonde haired man bellowed, and watched as his "guards" gunned down the rest of the people, with the boy under his arm in a firm grasp. The young boy watched, horrified as the people fell limp to the ground.

"Wait" The man called of his men, when there was only one person left in the line, and that was the woman who so resembled the boy by his side.

"Mommy!" The boy cried out, and tried to run to her but a large hand lashed out and struck the boy in the head, sending him to the ground.

"Tarquin!" The woman cried, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"If you smart kid, you'll stay on the ground" He said in a stern voice then slowly made his way toward the woman who was now shaking.

"You will all pay for you did...you killed them, and now all of you will die!" The man yelled, then reached out and wrapped a hand around the woman's neck.

"Mommy! no!" The boy on the ground yelled, and tried to get up, but the man holding his mother sent a bolt of electricity at the ground before the boy and he remained on the ground.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him" The man said with a sickening smile then snapped the woman's neck.

"Mommy!" The boy screamed.

Deep chocolate brown eyes blinked a few times before opening to a crisp blue sky dotted with clouds. The man sat up and looked about himself, taking in the chaos all around him. He could hear screams in the distance and gun fire. As quickly as his exhausted body would let him, he stood up. On unsteady legs he walked down the sidewalk which was moslty reduced to rumble.

_I have to find someplace safe to rest, I've never traveled this far and it's taken quite a toll on my body._

The man walked into an alley which seemed deserted, but just as he was about to sit he heared a gruff voice.

"Hey! What the hell ya think ya doing eh? Everybody knows dis spot is taken!" Tarquinn turned to his left and found a group of rough looking men.

"Kill 'im, then take what 'es got!" That same voice yelled, and the men moved in on Tarquinn.

_I can't fight them like this... I can barely stand _

Just as the group was about to move in on Tarquinn a figure ran into the alley and ended up knocking into one of the men and landing face first on the ground.

"What the hell?" The man shouted as he shoved the figure off himself.

"Ya tryin to be some kinda hero kid?" The man yelled, righting himself, then picked up the figure by the nap of his shirt and pinned him to the wall. Tarquinn became paralyzed as he laid eyes on the messy blonde hair, discolored blue eye and the scar.

"Let me go!" The boy yelled, as he struggled against the man, but only earned a laugh in return.

_Kill him! He deserves to die! _

"I said let me go!" The teen yelled and electricity crackled about his hands and moved up his arms. He thrust his arms forward and sent the man into the opposite wall. Once the man hit the wall, the unmistakable crunch of bone against concrete echoed throughout the alley.

"He's a mutant, let's get out of here!" The remaining group fled the alley. Axel stood wide eyed, staring at his hands, watching the electricity die down.

Tarquinn remained still as a statue.

_He's... so young..._

_Kill him!_

"What the hell?" Axel cursed, astonished by what he just did. He sunk to the ground, his mind over run by thoughts, and his body overwhelmed by the exurtion of energy.

"Did I? ... how did I do that?" He stuttered, still studying his hands, then a thought struck him. He half crawled half walked toward the limp body by the wall. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest and a wave of nausea washed over him as he felt for a pulse. He blanched when no pulse responded.

_Murderer!_

Axel scrambled away from the body and stood up.

"Holy shit, he's dead. I ... I killed him" He said, backing away from the body, unaware of the man watching his every move. When the nausea became too much, Axel leaned his arms up against the wall, and tried to calm himself but ended up dry heaving anyway. Shaking, Axel fell collapsed to the ground again, and that's when his eyes landed on the dark haired man who was watching him.

"Did you... did you see that?" Axel asked the man, but recieved no reply.

"How does someone shoot electricity out of their hands? It's impossible ... I must be going crazy. I'm just dreaming..." Axel trailed off.

"What are you talking about? You're a mutant. Surley that isn't the first time you've used your powers" The man said, taking a few steps toward the boy.

"They mentioned mutants before... this can't be what they meant..." He trailed off again.

"Thanks" The man said, although reluctant to do so.

"Why are you thanking me?" Axel said, looking up at the man.

"You saved my life. If you hadn't of scared them off I'd be dead right now, so thank you" The man said through gritted teeth.

"I...just killed a man, killed a man! and your thanking me?"

"If you hand't of, we'd both be dead" The man replied.

"It doesn't matter! I... he didn't have to die!" Axel shot back.

"It is true... I really am a monster..." He trailed off, and continued to mumble to himself.

"Axel!" The boy's head snapped up when he heared his name.

"Axel where are you! Oh god, if we don't find him soon, he'll bleed out! There's no way he can last on his own in his condition" Natalie's voice rang through the street.

"Nat! It's getting dark, we have to get back. There's no sense in risking your life for this guy. We don't even know who he is!" A male voice countered.

"How can you say that! We have to keep looking!" Natalie fired back.

"He obviously didn't want our help, seeing as he took all of his stuff and just left!"

"It doens't matter if he wants our help or not. I'm not about to let someone die!" Natalie yelled.

After calming down a bit, the adrenaline left Axel and a sharp pain shot through his side. He lifted up his shirt to reveal a blood soaked bandage.

"Don't find me. Let me die" Axel said under his breath and let his head flop back to the wall behind him.

"Hey, you ok kid?" The man asked, noticing the blood seeping through axel's clothes.

"I'm.. fine" He gasped through gritted teeth.

_Do not kill him unless you have to. He does not need to die, he...He was once a good man. He can be made into the savior this world needs. It is up to you to decide his fate! You must become his teacher and he, your pupil!_

The voice of Tarquinn's once good friend an teacher rang in his head, and he knelt down by the much younger Axel then the one he was used to.

"Come on. I think someone's looking for you" Tarquinn said, and lifted the boy up.

"Leave me be, just let me die!" Axel yelled, and tried to shove the man away but he was too weak. With all of his strength the man lifted the now unconsious Axel and carried him out of the alley way.

_I can't believe I'm helping him... the man that took my mother away from me. How did he even get the way he was? He seems so innocent now... worrying about killing one man when in the future he kills millions just for the fun of it. How can someone change so much?_

xXxX and now I'm screaming bloody murder and my temperature begins to drop XxXx

In an alley just a few blocks away from Tarquinn and Axel, a tall man wearing all black leaned up against the wall of what looked like an old run down bar or strip club. The man tossed an opened switchblade while he was waiting. Just then the door opened and tall woman with an hourglass figure wearing a black sleeveless dress that hugged her tightly walked out. The woman looked down to light her cigarette with one hand and bumbed into the man, knocking the breifcase out of her other hand. The man moved to help the woman, and picked up her breifcase.

"I believe you dropped this miss" The man said, handing her the breifcase he previously carried. The woman nodded in return and both walked away in opposite directions.

_Finally... let's get this party started _The man thought as he walked away with the breifcase containing the dismantled sniper gun. A smile lite up on the bounty hunter's face as he made his way back to his car.

xXxX I'm torn apart, I can't believe you stand and watch me bleed XxXx

woot! I wrote this all today and haven't really looked over it so try and ignore my grammar heh. Anyway I know there's not much in this one but I wanted to build moe on Axel and Tarquinn... I'm not sure if I like how I wrote out their confrontation meh... anyway I might be adding another scene or two to this chapter so keep an eye out. I know the last scene is pint sized compared to the first two but it's suppose to be :o sorry again for the slow updating and forgive me if your character doesn't show up very often, or hasn't shown up yet, I'm working on it... there are a lot of characters I'm working on.

Well I hope ya like how the story is going so far! I'm tryin to work on getting the other characters in, I was gonna add to this one but my brains a little fried at the moment so I'll probably add one in later, like I said before.

Please leave a review! It keeps me motivaded! :D


	7. Chapter 7

Alright, so I think I have just overwhelmed myself with the last plot and after going over it again and again in my head I can't find a way to fix this without editing. So, I'm thinkin about doing a reboot. I know what you're thinking, I've tried this already, and it failed, so what's the point? If I do try this, the major plot will remain the same, but there will be some changes. I'm taking out all of my ocs, besides Axel and Tarquinn and Enzo. I'm going to take out the xmen, and here is where the editing for the major plot goes into. There will also be some cuts of ocs, I just have too many.

Here is the new and improved plot:

The world has already pretty much gone to shit. The government is being pulled to it's knees and half the world has become a war zone. Mutants were outed to the world years ago, and the world still isn't too happy about their excistance. The xmen have died a long time ago, and with them all understand between the two races diminished. You see, mutants were outed while the xmen still lived, and they reasoned with the humans, and basically were a medium between the two races. When the original xmen were wiped out due to old age, the new xmen couldn't keep the peace up as they did, the pressure the humans kept on them was too strong and they eventually were forced to give in. With rogue mutants running about causing caos, turned human's views on mutants as a whole. It started off with the registration, which led to slavery, and eventually a full blown war.

Now, humans are at the top. Mutants have been forced into hiding for fear of becoming slaves, locked up in cells or just plain killed. Most mutants are too afraid to fight back, but more and more are stepping up. This war has only hit part of the world, but is spreading rapidly. In order for mutants to survive they have to band together and fight or hide. The world is fast becoming a place of kill or be killed.

ok so there's the plot, here are some key basis:

- xmen no longer exist, they died out a long time ago.

- half of America, hasn't been hit by the war, but it's spreading fast. It's already hit most of Europe and it's surroundings.

- There are groups of mutants scattered around the areas that the war has hit. These groups will be: the sewer rats, the bandits, the alphas, and the humanitarians. Also there will be a few loners and antagonists.

- This fic will take place in the future and the present, so be prepared.

The groups are the same, but here is a refresher if need be:

Sewer Rats: The are basically a bunch of mutants that dwell in the sewers, they live in a large "family". Most of them have a physical mutation that sets them apart from the humans and that's why they hide here. They aren't very friendly with each other, sure they help each other out, but it's more of a I'l help you if you help me type of thing. This is because there are hardly any resources to go around and it's basically survival of the fittest down there. There will be at least one or two main characters in this group and a ton of back round along with a few minor characters. What I'm mainly looking for in this group is mutants with a physical mutation, I would prefer a really young mutant along with an older-ish one (as in 40-70). I am also looking for someone who is on there own but they bring supplies to the sewer rats in exchange for things such as medical attention and a place to sleep for the night or weapons if they have any.. etc...

Bandits: They are a group of misfits (orphans, run aways, people that just don't belong and the like) They hide in junk yards, run down buildings and such and are basically scavengers. They care for no one but their own and are pretty seclusive. They move around a lot and don't stay in one place too long and are always scavenging for food and such.

The Alphas: They are somewhat like the group Gambit is in (sorry i can't think of the name at the moment, my brain is a little fried) They are mostly made up of teenagers and young adults, and maybe a middle aged Superior... They aren't really like a family but they do watch each others asses. They are pretty seclusive as in they will only let some one join the group if it will benefit them. Same thing as the others, about three or so mains and a few minor, no back round. This group doesn't have a lot of people in it. They usually dwell in the streets, they don't care if anyone see's them and knows they are mutants, they think they are the toughest on the block and they tend to be right. Usually they are pretty brutal...

Medusa: A group of brutal mutants who are fighting under Pandora's (Alpha) rule. Their main goal is to overthrow the government. They are considered antagonists because although their intentions might be considered good, they are killing and doing whatever they have to to get what they want.

* * *

><p>ocs that will be in the story:<p>

-about 4 or 5 mains for each major group

-on major antagonist along with their followers (Alpha, Beta, Delta, Echo, Charlie and Foxtroter)

-a few that start off as captured mutants and or slaves who will join someone in the long run

* * *

><p>As for my ocs, Axel and Tarquinn are both Bandits and Enzo is code name Echo of Medusa.<p>

If you want your oc to remain in this story, please say so. Give me the characters name please, dont just say " keep my character" or something.

I will give about a week or two to get replies from people. If I don't get an ok from you, I wont use your oc. If I don't enough ocs to fill in the spots, I will ask for new ocs, so please reply.

Right now I am not accepting and Main characters for Bandits, Alphas, or sewer rats, those spots are reserved for the ocs from the old story. I will open this up if they don't want their character in it anylonger.

Right now, if you want to submit characters I will only take Medusa group members, and mutants that start off as slaves or captured.

As for the Medusan's Alpha and Echo's spota are taken, the rest are open. Beta and Delta are already part of the group, Echo, Charlie and Foxtroter haven't been recruited yet, so if you want Charlier or Fostrot, make them a slave, captured or loner at first.

The forum is the same but I'll post it again anyway:

Name:

Nicknames and/or code name:

Gender:

age:

Nationality (include accent if any):

Spoken languages:

birthday and birth place (I dont mean what hostpital or if they were born in a f*cking toilet, I mean state or country):

sexuality:

appearance ( include height, weight, hair color and style, skin color, eye color, body build, facial features and anything extra like scars, tattoos or piercings, or physical mutation if any, I think you get the point now):

Personality:

Beliefs:

Weapons (if any, be realistic, they aren't gonna have a grenade launcher and lazer guns):

skills (beside their power, include fighting style):

Power:

Weakness (power weakness and other weaknesses) :

secrets:

Allies:

Enemies:

Group (include at least two you'd prefer them to be in but I will have the final decision):

How they found/joined the group:

Position in group (ie: infirmary, weapons (teaching and making), guard and/ or look out, brute (defense, could teach the younger ones to fight), scout (goes out and collects resources). not all groups will have every one of these so choose two or give me one you come up with):

Romantic interests (don't give me a specific person give me a type of person or an example, your character may or may not have a love relationship) :

History (include before the war, maybe a bit about their family and how they found the group they are in if they are in one):

good/evil/neutral:

Views (how do they view the world as it is, what do they think of the war and how do they view mutants and/or humans):

Clothing (not just one outfit, give me a general idea and maybe a few examples):

Possessions (what do they travel with ie: a backpack with a few changes of clothes, a bit of food, a water bottle.. etc. They are not going to me carrying makeup and hair products or laptops and game boys, be realistic. Also include anything they carry on their person):

Are you ok if I kill the character , put them in a slightly elicit scene or make minor changes to them?

Anything else I need to know about them?:

Give me a few plot ideas that I can use with them (optional):

And that's it! Again, sorry it's a lot, but I like details :)


	8. Chapter 8

Cast List as of so far:

**Medusa:**

Pandora (Alpha), created by TheWritingGirl23

Matthew Ryder (Bravo), created by; Kairi Avalon

Noctis Caleum (Charlie), created by; San child of the wolves

Enzo DeLuca (Echo), created by; Myself

(Positions still available: Delta, Foxtrot)

**Alphas:**

Blade Semi, created by; San child of the wolves

Danny Comeau, created by; TheMomeRathsOutgrabe

**Sewer Rats:**

Alex Harrison, created by; TheMomeRathsOutgrabe

Lili Pastelle, created by; James95

Jordan Pastelle, created by; James95

**Bandits:**

Mick Harrison, created by; TheMomeRathsOutgrabe

Quinn Delmond, created by; Stormysongbird

Axel, created by; myself

Tarquinn, created by; myself

* * *

><p>As far as Medusa goes, there are only two spots left: Delta and Foxtrot. I'd like Foxtrot to be the only girl besides Pandora in the group, so if ya want to make Foxtrot make her female please. :)<p>

I also need mutants that are already captured, but they will end up in a group, if you make one of these, tell me how they got caught in their history.

I am now accepting ocs, so submit away! hahah gawd that sounds stupid... anyway! Take your time with making the ocs, and make them good xD I'm in no hurry to restart this story, so don't feel rushed in making your oc. I'm not sure when I'll get the story going, I've got two other stories I'm working on atm... which really need to be updating :O Why am I so bad at this updating thing? lol sorry guys. The first chapter is actually under construction atm so it shouldn't be too too long before I get it up but I don't want to really start the story until I have the rest of the ocs. I will mostlikely post the first chapter up after updating my other stories :P

I'm trying really hard to keep up with my stories but I'm really caught up in the Bleach fandom... mostly reading and not writing, although I have so many ideas I want to starts it's drving me crazy, but I probably will never start them because like most of my stories I will never finish them. :O

Ok, rant over... now what are doing still reading this? Submit Submit Submit! xD


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